Comparisons with Bangladesh’s legendary allrounder will always be inevitable, but Taijul has made peace with it
Mohammad Isam21-Oct-2024He may not be in the Test team, but Shakib Al Hasan continued to dominate the chatter around the Shere Bangla National Stadium, especially after Bangladesh had collapsed to 106 in the first innings against South Africa.Even after Taijul Islam rescued the home side with his 13th five-wicket haul – nine of those have come in Tests in which Shakib didn’t play – most questions at the press conference were about Shakib. Despite appearing to be mildly annoyed, Taijul answered with a little smile.Shakib or no Shakib, Taijul has been here before, and done that, quietly. He has always played in Shakib’s shadow, and then in Shakib and Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s shadow. But whenever he was given the chance, especially in home Tests, Taijul made it count.Related
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In fact, Taijul has been head and shoulders above the rest of the bowlers when Shakib hasn’t been around. He even has two ten-wicket hauls, one of them helping Bangladesh to their maiden Test win against New Zealand at home, last year.”Shakib isn’t playing this game but I have played without Shakib before,” Taijul said. “We have won Tests against New Zealand both in their country and at home without Shakib . There are many more examples. Actually a player isn’t going to play till he is 50 years old. We have to accept it. There’s no doubt that he was a very good player. Let’s all pray that we get someone like him in the future. At the same time, those who are around also play well.”The mask did slip on occasion, though.”The thing is, when Shakib played, I got wickets because of him. When Shakib didn’t play, I got wickets because of Shakib . I am the one who plays, though,” he said. “I never regret anything. I could play with big players. You could learn a lot from the likes of Tamim [Iqbal] , Shakib , Mushfiq [Mushfiqur Rahim] and [Mahmudullah] Riyad – if they are willing to share their experience.”Taijul’s fourth wicket on Monday – of debutant Matthew Breetzke with an arm-ball – made him the second Bangladesh bowler, after Shakib, to take 200 Test wickets. He got to the milestone faster than Shakib, taking only 48 matches to Shakib’s 54. This despite missing 16 Tests when Bangladesh preferred Shakib and Mehidy in overseas conditions.Shakib Al Hasan’s fans show their support for the cricketer outside the Shere Bangla Stadium•ESPNcricinfo Ltd”Two-hundred wickets is definitely quite good. Many bowlers have taken 200 wickets, others have gone on to take more,” Taijul said. “I haven’t had a bad career. You can’t play three spinners in most conditions. Sometimes you can play one spinner in the line-up. I was sometimes in, sometimes out. I should have played more matches given the amount of time in my career.”Taijul drew comparisons with that of Rangana Herath, who played just 15 Tests when Muthiah Muralidaran was Sri Lanka’s No. 1 spinner. When Muralidaran retired, Herath took over, ending his career with 433 Test wickets. In Taijul’s case, of course, Shakib and Mehidy brought, and bring, much more to the table with the bat, but that’s a separate issue.”I wouldn’t say I was deprived of anything. There are examples such as mine – when Herath had a long and successful career after missing out for years due to Muralidaran,” Taijul said. “I hope to do something similar in the future.”Taijul, however, said that he has made peace with the fact that he will never be a superstar in Bangladesh despite his impressive Test career. “There’s a lot of things that happen in our country by the gift of the gab – we have seen people playing badly, but they get trolled so hard that they become stars. While there are some whose good performance don’t make them stars. I have made peace with it. There’s no other way.”
