Bangladesh T20I's opener Rony Talukdar is an exception. The right-handed batsman made a return to the national fold following a gap of nearly eight years with the three-match T20I's against England, a thing not common in cricket history of Bangladesh.
IRELAND IN BANGLADESH, 2023
Talukdar heads the right way on comeback trail
Talukdar hit a 38-ball 67 © AFP
Talukdar made his T20I's debut against South Africa in 2015 where he batted at number seven instead of his favourite opening slot and managed a 22-ball 21 but since that game went into the wilderness.
Talukdar made a comeback against England on the back of a strong performance in the just concluded Bangladesh Premier League, the country's lone franchise-based T20 tournament.
Rony became the second-highest scorer in the BPL making 425 runs in 13 games for Rangpur Riders at an average of 35.42 while striking it at 129.18 which helped his side reach the playoffs of the tournament.
"I never gave up hope and always believed that someday I will be able to make a comeback," Talukdar told Cricbuzz after being included in the squad for the series against England.
"I'm confident because I played well in BPL and there I have played against some good bowlers," he said.
"I have scored runs in the back foot and worked on it with Imran [Sarowar Imran] Sir," he said.
"I practiced playing down the ground with Imran sir before the league and I used to show my practice videos to him. I spoke with him about my game and he used to tell me that I can score runs even if I play it down the ground as well as guided me so that I can be a better batsman," he added.
Bangladesh tried many openers since Tamim Iqbal retired from the shortest format to partner Liton Kumar Das but none could cement that spot which prompted the management to try Talukdar considering his form in the domestic circuit.
The selectors gave him a break against England in the T20Is and though he failed to make any big score, making 21, 9, 24 in the three games, he certainly caught the eyes of the team management with his aggressive approach.
Talukdar eventually made his return count with
