Is Zakir Hasan Bangladesh’s next all-format batsman?
Former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers is widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best, batsmen in modern cricket. However, it would be difficult to explain why he is seen in such high regard using plain statistics.
The Protea batter is the 21st highest run-getter in Tests, 17th in the ODI run-scorers list and 36th in T20Is. He is not part of the prestigious 10,000 runs club in either Tests or ODIs nor does he have a place in the top five century scorers in any format.
Still, De Villiers’ is regarded as one of the best players to ever pick up a cricket bat. The biggest reason behind that is his adaptability.
De Villiers could take apart any bowling attack in the shorter formats, as he did against the West Indies in Johannesburg, 2015, on his way to scoring a hundred off just 31 deliveries, the quickest in ODI history.
In fact, De Villiers is the scorer of the fastest half-century, century and 150 in 50-over cricket.
But that same swashbuckling player batted for over six hours, faced 220 deliveries without hitting a single boundary in Adelaide in November 2012 to secure a draw for South Africa against Australia.
Many batters can do either of those things, but only De Villiers could do both.
So, on the second day of the ninth Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Bangladesh cricket fans were treated with something really special. Without even realising, they were treated with a ‘De Villiers-esque’ innings, courtesy of Zakir Hasan.
‘De Villiers-esque’
The night game between Fortune Barishal and Sylhet Strikers yielded almost 400 runs in 20 overs, with the latter getting over the line at the end with six wickets to spare.
Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy entertained the crowds with expansive shots but it was Zakir’s blistering 43 off 18 balls that decided the fate of the contest.
Zakir came to the crease when Sylhet needed another 93 runs off 50 balls. He took on Barishal’s best spinners, Shakib and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, hitting them for a four and a six each, to make sure Sylhet never lost momentum.
Zakir’s innings was special, considering knocks like such don’t come often from the willows of Bangladeshi batsmen. But it becomes even more special when one considers that less than a month back, he was fighting tooth and nail against the Indian attack dressed in white, like an ideal Test opener.
From T20 specialist to Test opener
Zakir made his Test debut in Bangladesh’s two-Test series against India at home in December last year.
In the second innings of his debut Test, Zakir batted for over five hours, faced 224 deliveries to bring up his maiden Test century.
He showed similar tenacity in the second innings of the second Test, this time batting over three hours and facing 135 deliveries on a worn out pitch in Dhaka to make 51 runs.
Zakir’s batting in the series impressed one and all with skipper Shakib going on to say that he wants more players like Zakir in the Test team.
One couldn’t be faulted to slot Zakir as a red-ball specialist after the series against India.
However, at the start of Zakir’s career, he was considered a T20 specialist, given the array of shots at his disposal.
Zakir played his first Test in 2022, but he made his debut in international cricket in February 2018 against Sri Lanka in a T20I.
But after playing just one T20I, Zakir lost his place in the side. So, Zakir went from being a T20 prospect to another failed experiment in a flash.
In the following years, Zakir moulded himself as a batter who can succeed in red-ball cricket. But to achieve that, he didn’t lose touch with what made him stand out in the first place, his ability to hit boundaries.
Zakir’s hard work has now started paying off. He has already sealed a place on the Test side with his performance against India and if he can keep playing innings like the one he played on Saturday, a call-up to the shorter formats can’t be too far.
At 24 years of age, the sky is the limit for Zakir. No one can predict how far Zakir will go. But in less than 30 days, Zakir has excelled at two completely different challenges and played innings that even De Villiers would have been proud of. And that’s something no one can take back from him.