'It's a dream to play for Abahani'

TASKIN AHMED

 

Sports Reporter

The last few months haven't been the best for Taskin Ahmed. In fact, they might have been some of the most frustrating times for the young pacer.
At 21, the pacer has already been forced to overcome several obstacles. His injuries have been a constant thorn in his career, which is yet to take off in earnest.
In the recent past, every time Taskin looked good and seemingly had taken one step forward, he would be pushed back because of an injury. Last year, he had gone through a number of matches without getting injured and seemed to be doing really well. Boosted by the confidence the pacer had even talked about making a Test debut, but soon after the India series, he was injured.
He did come back in the Bangladesh Premier League in November but injured himself in the process yet again. He managed to find a place in the national team for the World Twenty20 in the nick of time by getting fit and playing the Zimbabwe series right before the World Cup. When all seemed well, his action was deemed illegal.
Once again, with his back to the wall, Taskin hopes to make a quick recovery. His first task will to prove himself with his slightly modified action in the Dhaka Premier League, due to begin on April 22.
“That [bowling action] is obviously a big factor for me. I have to go for a test after the DPL. But I am not that worried because I don't have to make any major change in my bowling action. I have been doing some remedial work with the BCB [Bangladesh Cricket Board] and Abahani officials are observing me closely as well. They are all helping me,” Taskin told reporters following his training session at Mirpur yesterday.
Proud to be signed up by one of the bigwigs of the tournament, Abahani Limited, the pacer hopes he can have a successful DPL.

 

“This is the biggest league of the country and everyone knows that if you perform here it will count. More importantly, I have been hearing about club rivalries in the Premier League since I was a kid. Abahani- Mohammedan for instance is a big rivalry,
“So I want to thank God that I am playing for Abahani. I have never played for them. It's a sort of a dream for me. Even my father wanted me to play for Abahani this time. So I'll try to do something good for them this time,” he added.