Rony on course of breaking Adil Rashid’s record

BSS, Dhaka :
Rony Talukdar looked certain to play his first T20 International match after eight years when Bangladesh will take on England in the first of the three-match series at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium today.
If he makes the first XI today against England, he will create a different type of record as he will be the player with longest interval between his first and second T20 match.
After Rony’s debut in 2015, Bangladesh has played 106 T20Is. So, he will be the cricketer to play T20I after the longest break. The record holder in this case is in his opponent side-leg-spinner Adil Rashid played his next T20I match after the first one following 92-match hiatus. Rashid made his debut in 2009 but had to wait six years to play his second match in 2015.
The opener made his case stronger following an epic performance in the last Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), where he made 425 runs, second highest behind Najmul Hossain Shanto. But what drew the attention was his ability to give the side a fluent start in the powerplay, something which is Bangladesh’s T20I team is looking for.
Rony however had made his T20I debut during Hathurusingha’s first tenure in Bangladesh. He just played one match against South Africa in 2015. Thereafter though he was included in the 2016 T20I squad, couldn’t make the first XI and finally was axed. It looked he got axed forever but he never gave up and that paid a rich dividends.
“I have seen Rony before. I remember he played one game against South Africa. I can’t remember if he got injured or some other people started doing well,” Hathurusingha said about Rony.
“I am actually very interested to see what he can do. They have done well in domestic cricket so it is an opportunity for them to put their hands up. I think they will get a lot of opportunities to show what they can do. My message to them today was to do what they normally do, in the international stage,” he added.