Adil Rashid’s leg-spin holds no fear for Bangladesh’s batsmen, insists all-rounder Sabbir Rahman
Bangladesh all-rounder Sabbir Rahman goaded England ahead of Friday’s opening one-day clash by insisting Adil Rashid’s leg-spin bowling holds no fear for his side’s batsmen.
Rashid has forced himself into the one-day reckoning over the past 18 months and is England’s leading wicket-taker in 50-over contests since the 2015 World Cup, claiming 38 scalps.
The 28-year-old, who missed Yorkshire’s final County Championship match of the season last month for personal reasons, returned figures of 1-76 in Tuesday’s warm-up clash, and Rahman insists Bangladesh are unfazed by him.
“We have played against a difficult leg-spinner, hopefully there won’t be any problems playing against England,” said Rahman. “We are not seeing Adil Rashid that way. I don’t think he will be too difficult to face.”
Rahman was a member of the Bangladesh side which beat England by 15 runs at the Adelaide Oval during last year’s World Cup, a defeat which knocked Peter Moores’ team out of the competition and went some way to costing the ex-Lancashire coach his job.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes, meanwhile, who will act as vice-captain for the three-match one-day series in Bangladesh, believes umpires are too quick to stamp out sledging.
Stokes has had several run-ins with West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels, most recently in the final of the World Twenty20 earlier this year. Samuels had infamously taunted Stokes with a salute after his dismissal in the Grenada Test in 2015.
The 25-year-old, who has played 25 Tests and 44 one-day internationals for England, was also caught sledging South Africa batsman Temba Bavuma during the Cape Town Test earlier this year.
“We’re trying to win a game here playing for our country, so give us a bit of leeway,” said Stokes. “Fans like to see passion and a desire to win, so I think there could be a bit more leniency towards stuff like that, definitely.”