He does not look like a traditional fast bowler with a sturdy and muscular body and a great height. The 5’8” Tanzim Hasan Sakib looks exceptional in the pack of Taskin Ahmed, Shariful Islam and Ebadot Hossain and other strongly built pace bowlers of Bangladesh.
But this slim pacer was the first to show that something better could be achieved against South Africa in the ongoing ICC Twenty20 World Cup through picking up three wickets conceding only 18 runs. The figures are his career best in the shortest format of the game so far as well.
Tanzim Hasan debuted against India in the Asia Cup in September last year and has been featuring in the Bangladesh’s T20 team from December that year. He has already taken part in two World Cups - in the ODI and the T20.
He is not an express paceman who regularly bowls at a speed of around 140 kmph. He was not even included in the squad since there are more skillful pacers than him in Bangladesh. Despite everything, how could Tanzim make a place in competitive cricket?
Nothing but “confidence” , he said.
Cricket is mostly a game of nerves. The more confident you are, the more you can dominate your opponentsTanzim Hasan Sakib, Bangladesh pacer
In an interview with Prothom Alo, he once said, “Cricket is mostly a game of nerves. The more confident you are, the more you can dominate your opponents. This was my thought before entering international cricket. I played the game at the age level cricket in similar ways; that was my philosophy in domestic cricket as well. I prepared myself this way.”
The team management has also observed this mentality of Tanzim Hasan.
He picked up only one wicket from two matches against Zimbabwe in a home series. His “competitor” Mohammad Saifuddin grabbed eight wickets, the highest in the series, from four matches.
Despite the numbers, the selectors thought Tanzim a better choice in the showpiece event because of his bold and offensive approach to the game.
He has repaid the trust of the selectors picking up four wickets from the first two matches in the World Cup.
His outstanding performance has raised the competition level among the pacers for a spot in the team.
First choice Shoriful Islam could not play the first two matches of the World Cup due to an injury. He is likely to return for the last two matches.
But the team management would surely be in a dilemma over who to choose alongside Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman.