He was never a sissy. He was a winner who was misused. He should always have been played in the middle order, but would be made to come in as low as #8 regularly instead. Not much you can do at #8 especially when the team is 40/6 already.
We played non-talents like Aftab and Roqibul up the order for years, yet we kept our best batsman out of the top 6. The management teams over the years are to be blamed for this.
I've wanted him to bat up the order ever since I first saw him bat for the national team at the age of 16, but the management stuck to non-batsmen in the top/middle orders and even some of the fans came up with lame excuses about his technique not being up to par against fast bowlers. Orey amar shonar technique, koto technique dekhailo Aftab/Junaed/Roqibul, eder technique er thelay McGrath/Pollock er o jor eshe jaay gaaye. Bull crap.
The minute they started to play him in the middle order (4-6) on a regular basis, he started showing everyone what he's made of. Gotta say, told you so.
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Screw the IPL, I'm going to the MLC!
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