Nahid Rana is unlike any cricketer in Bangladesh's Test history, for he hurls thunderbolts from six foot two.
You hear about a new fast bowler in town. You can see that nobody seems to stop talking about him. Then you cast a glance at his career records. And you immediately wonder why, for nothing stands out in Nahid Rana’s three-Test-match career that has yielded 11 wickets at 41.09 apiece.
Of course, he has struck at 46 balls per wicket. Among Bangladeshi fast bowlers with 10 wickets (there have been only 20 in their history), only teammate Hasan Mahmud (14 wickets at 41) has done better. But then, 10 wickets is too low a cut-off to set, and in the same pool of bowlers, Nahid’s economy of 5.31 is the worst. In Test cricket, it is a preferred trade-off, but that average is still unsatisfactory.
But then, there is the other number, the one that does not feature in conventional scorecards. You would have noticed if you have watched the match live, for they showed it on the ticker, and the commentators made a point to mention it.
Nahid hit 145 kph consistently against Pakistan. In the second innings of the second Test match, he hurried Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel with his pace. They were visibly late on to their strokes against him as he clocked 152 kph, the fastest on record for any Bangladeshi bowler. Hasan’s 5-43 were the better figures, but Nahid’s 4-44 was a spell from uncharted territory in Bangladesh history.
Bangladesh have produced fast bowlers before, but never someone you would watch for sheer pace. The nation was once part of the undivided Bengal province. The Ranji Trophy team of Bengal – with whom Bangladesh share a border and a language – have produced swing and seam bowlers of class, but never a genuinely quick bowler: Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep migrated to the state in their later years.
Niaz Ahmed, the lone East Pakistani to play Test cricket for Pakistan, was medium-fast. Neither Daulat Zaman nor Jahangir Shah, two other early stalwarts, was a bowler of express pace. Among 21st-century cricketers, Shahadat Hossain repeatedly beat Ricky Ponting’s bat and hit him on the helmet, bounced out Rahul Dravid and shattered his cheekbone, and could run through line-ups, but was too erratic to have a sustained career.
Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain, and Taskin Ahmed had started off as bowlers of genuine pace as well. But none of them was or is of of Nahid Rana pace.
This is not what Bangladeshis do. Their fast bowlers adjust to flat pitches in a domestic circuit that throws up one quality spinner after another. As recently as in 2023, they fielded attacks with one seamer against New Zealand at home. That seamer, Shoriful Islam, bowled 28 overs across two Tests and four innings in that series.
Bangladesh’s world-class spin attack makes them a threat to touring sides. With little assistance, their seamers find ways to take wickets. They do not bowl fast. If they beat the bat, it is with movement, with the new ball and the old. They often cannot. Mortaza’s 78 wickets are the most in their Test history. Shahadat (72) is the only other pacer to breach the 50-mark. For perspective, four Bangladeshi spinners have made it to 100 wickets.
This is the background from which the Nahid, six foot two, has emerged to hit 152 kph. And the story of his rise is just as absurd.
The rise of Nahid Rana
Nahid will turn 22 over the course of the India tour, but until 17, he was – like many others in the Indian subcontinent – playing cricket only with the tennis ball. Since the tennis ball does not mimic a cricket ball’s movement, the best bowlers there often have to rely on pace.
Nahid always wanted to become a cricketer, but for that, he had to request money from his elder brother, the primary earning member of the family. The brother assured him the money once he passed school. That done, Nahid left Horishpur for Chapainawabganj to become a cricketer. He came under the tutelage of Alamgir Kabir, who currently works as a fast bowling coach at the Rajshahi Cricket Academy.
Nahid’s talent was obvious, but Alamgir worked on his run-up. Swimming and climbing mango trees helped him add muscles to his frame, unusually tall from that part of the world. He burst into first-class cricket at 19, claiming 4-107 in 24 overs against Barisal Division on debut. These were still early days, but the unusual strike rate and economy have accompanied him for the rest of his career.
The next season, 2022/23, he claimed 41 wickets at 18.26. The only seamers with more wickets were Sumon Khan (48 at 17.45) and Musfik Hasan (44 at 20.54). Both are classified as medium-pacers. Included in the North Zone side for that season’s inter-zonal tournament, he claimed 4-60 and 3-81 against South Zone.
In 2023/24, Bangladesh included Nahid in the Sylhet Test match against Sri Lanka. The game is remembered for twin hundreds by both Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis, but Nahid claimed five wickets. Keeping in tune with his career, he struck every 40.8 balls but went at 6.32 an over.
From 18 first-class matches, Nahid has 74 wickets at 24.77 and a strike rate of 37 – but at an economy of 4.01 an over. Remove the three Tests, and the numbers for his 63 wickets read 21.92, 35.4, and 3.72. Everything points at a bright future.
Of course, Nahid is not a certain starter on the India tour. If the wickets assist turn, Bangladesh may fall back on their spin trinity of Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Taijul Islam. In Shoriful’s absence, Taskin – the incumbent spearhead – is likely to play. Hasan, slightly slower but more accurate, may get the nod ahead of Nahid.
If he does get picked, however, he will embark on his first real test, against India – a side that has won 17 consecutive Test series at home and seem set to qualify for the third consecutive World Test Championship final. Touring fast bowlers have got wickets in India, but none of them has quite blasted out India in India since Dale Steyn in 2009/10.
We will wait to see if he plays, and if he plays, how he does. His rise, like his bowling has been fast, and he will endure ups and downs, as is typical of the proper quicks. But Bangladesh haven't had many proper quicks. And none as quick as Nahid Rana.
True, history does not favour Nahid. But then, history did not predict the emergence of a tall, 152 kph bowler from Bangladesh either.
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