Nahid Rana: Gold, Pure Gold

"Gold, pure gold"... This exclamation uttered by Danny Morrison reverberates repeatedly as I write about Nahid Rana. Should I introduce Danny Morrison? He is a former Kiwi pacer with experience of playing 48 Tests and 98 One Day Internationals (ODIs). But now, to the young cricket fans, he is better known as a witty commentator. He had decent pace but could not cross the threshold of a true pacer. Perhaps this is the reason why Danny Morrison better understands the value of Nahid Rana and dubs him as "pure gold".

Express pacers are pure gold, with an emphasis on the word ‘express’. Anyone crossing 140 kilometers per hour can be called a fast bowler. However, to be called an express fast bowler, you need a speed of at least 145 kmph. It is not that there is a specific definition for this. These terms have been used verbally. You can call these express fast bowlers the most invaluable jewels of cricket. The speed of someone’s ball can be increased a little by trying, but an express fast bowler cannot be made.

Express fast bowlers are born with the innate ability to create a storm of speed.

Readers might get bored reading the ‘definition and classification’ of fast bowling while the writing is about Nahid Rana, but what else can be done as Nahid Rana’s uniqueness lies in that speed. There have been quite a few 140-kilometer bowlers in Bangladeshi cricket, and there are still some. But there has never been a bowler who consistently bowls at a speed of more than 145 kmph and often touches 150. In the context of Bangladesh, Nahid Rana is perhaps more than "Gold, pure gold".

There is also a danger in having too much pace. The addiction to speed is a strange one, that often costs line length of a bowler. Nahid Rana also had this problem in the beginning. In his Test debut against Sri Lanka in March last year, he conceded more runs in line with the speed of the ball. He took 5 wickets in two innings, but gave away 6.5 runs per over. The West Indies, which has probably produced the most fast bowlers in the history of cricket, have a name for such bowlers – Da Wild Thing! You can understand what the meaning of the Wild Thing is, that is the line and length remains uncertain.

Nahid Rana was the 'Wild Thing' in his first Test in Sylhet. Five months later, in the first Test of the Pakistan tour, he didn't take a wicket in the first innings, giving away 105 runs in 19 overs. Nahid Rana's comeback from there was as dazzling as his pace. In the next Test in Pakistan, he settled the issue of line length controversy and played a big role in Bangladesh's victory by taking 4 wickets for 44 runs in the second innings.

It adds a different dimension when a foreign pacer brings a storm of speed in Pakistan, which has probably produced the most 'fastest bowlers in the world' at various times. On top of that, Nahid Rana was the vaunted bowler of the series for both teams. And the venue is also interesting—Rawalpindi, the city of Shoaib Akhtar, arguably the most fearsome speed star in history.

In a couple of months, Nahid Rana would shine even brighter in Kingston, Jamaica. Rawalpindi may be famous for Shoaib, but it can't compare to Jamaica when it comes to fast bowling. Almost all the stories and legends about fast bowling in the West Indies, the country of legendary fast bowlers, took place at Kensington Oval in Barbados or at Sabina Park in Kingston.

Of these two grounds, Sabina Park is a bit more prominent for fervent spectators. During the heyday of West Indies pace batteries, the spectators of Sabina Park would raise chants of ‘kill him’. They would get the most thrill seeing the opponent batsmen battered by pace and bouncers. The spectators at this very ground saw the same spectacle again last November where their own batsmen were at the receiving end. The bowler was none other than Nahid Rana!

First five wickets haul is as memorable for a bowler as the first century to a batsman. Nahid Rana got that coveted feat for the first time at Sabina Park. But Nahid Rana of Sabina Park won’t just be remembered for that. Not even for that Bangladesh won the Test. This is a match which will be remembered when Nahid Rana would be discussed years later. This Test will be remembered as the dawn of emergence of Bangladesh pacer Nahid Rana as a true global sensation.

Is this too much praise for a novice bowler who bagged 23 wickets in seven tests? The journey of a fast bowler is always perilous as there is the risk of injuries every moment. Can Nahid live up to the promise he had shown at the beginning of his career?

The answer to this question is neither easy nor known. We rather wait to see how the next segment of Nahid Rana’s unfolds.

* Utpal Shuvro is the Chief Sports Editor of Prothom Alo