A file photo from August 25, 2019 shows Bangladesh Emerging cricket team batsman Afif Hossain returning to the pavilion after his dismissal against their Sri Lankan counterparts in their third one-day match in Khulna. — BCB photo
Bangladesh High Performance unit all-rounder Afif Hossain on Tuesday claimed not to be thinking about a possible call-up to the national side as he was putting all his focus on their ongoing series against the Sri Lanka emerging team.
Bangladesh national team are set to begin a busy cricket season with a one-off Test series against Afghanistan at home and hosting Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in a tri-nation Twenty20 series in September before touring India in November.
The selectors and the new national coaching staff have hinted at the possibility of including some new players into the mix which opened up the chance of a national call up for Afif.
Afif, who already made his Twenty20 international debut in February, 2018 against Sri Lanka, claimed to keep those thoughts out of his head and concentrate on the HP team’s on-going series against their Sri Lankan counterparts.
‘I don’t worry about those things. I always try to perform in whatever match I play. Only then good things will happen for me. Right now I’m only thinking about performing my best here,’ Afif told reporters after scoring 54 against Sri Lanka on the first day of the first four-day match in Khulna.
‘My target is to focus on the matches that I am playing right now and perform well. If I play well and get an opportunity then I will try to do my best there. But for right now I am only thinking about this series,’ he added.
Afif was set to be the 5th Bangladeshi after Sakib al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim to play in the Caribbean Premier League when he was picked by the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots franchise to play in the seventh edition, starting from September 4.
But the Bangladesh Cricket Board earlier this week announced that they won’t give the 22-year old the no-objection certificate as they wanted to keep him at their reserves for the national team’s busy schedule.
Afif claimed not to be miffed about the Board’s decision as he viewed playing for the HP team as a big opportunity and hoped that good things will follow him in his career if he keeps performing well.
‘No, there is no regret. I wasn’t given the NOC but I am playing for my country against Sri Lanka. The country is always the first priority. It’s also a big opportunity for me to play here. If I perform well here it will definitely be good for me,’ he said.
Source: New Age.
