The rise of a new star?
Written by Wasim Ahmed
Is there a positive sign for the search of a proper no.3 batsman for Bangladesh? The maturity shown by an 18 year old boy gives hope to many cricket lovers of the country. Asif Ahmed (Ratul) scored a splendid hundred against Rangpur (152 from 156 balls) in the National League and in the process Asif shared a partnership of 225 with Mohammad Ashraful, his favorite player. Surprisingly, Asif dominated in that partnership. This is his third hundred in the first class cricket.
Asif scored 82 from 119 balls with 11 fours against Sylhet division in the last match of the National League. Asif is currently the top scorer in the National League with 687 runs. He has targeted the record of maximum runs scored by a Bangladeshi Batsman in a season. The current record holder is Minhazul Abedin (Nannu) with 1012 runs. Asif will have 6 more innings to achieve that feat.
This is his second National League only. Last year Asif played for Barisal Division. But this year he is playing for Dhaka Metro along with national stalwart like Ashraful, Mehrab Jnr, Elias Sunny. He really enjoyed his partnership of 225 with Ashraful. Asif said, “It’s a great experience to stay at the crease with such a great player like him for such a long time. He is still Bangladesh’s best batsman. He helps me a lot in the field.”
Asif came through the rank of under 13, 15, 17 and 19. He played for Bangladesh Academy team as well. In first class cricket he has scored 1072 runs so far at an average of 45.
Asif always dreams about playing for Bangladesh national team. He believes that within two years his dream will come true. He is preparing himself for that. He has targeted no.3 position in the national team which is a great worry for the team for a long time. Asif can bowl a bit off-spin as well. In the last premier league he took 18 wickets with a hat-trick. He wants to stay in the national team for a long time.
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