Life comes full circle for Nurul Hasan

• Life comes full circle for Nurul Hasan

Bangladesh chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain seemed to miss something while walking back from the press conference room after explaining his position regarding the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup.

"I think I should have mentioned that it is not true that Nurul Hasan was not considered for the last three years considering he was carrying a finger injury for quite some time but now when we picked him everywhere it is mentioned that he is returning in the national set-up after a gap of three years," Ashraf told Cricbuzz last week.

"I think everyone seemed to have forgotten about the finger injury," Ashraf said. The chief selector was at the receiving end for not picking Nurul despite the player's consistent performances in the domestic level.

When asked about the finger injury, Nurul said that he took time to get a hold of himself and it clearly suggested that he had gone through a lot.

"It is a part of life," Nurul said.

"I had to have two surgeries for a fracture in one of my fingers. When I went for the surgery for the second time, then the doctor – after seeing the x-ray and other reports – said, "99 percent of human beings do not need any surgery for this injury. You had a surgery. And now, you need to have another surgery for the infection.

"I had a gap due to the rehab and the other proceedings and somehow lost the momentum which was difficult for me because I created my place for the national team and I wouldn't get it again if I lose the place," he said.

"The trauma varies from man-to-man but I have taken it as a part of life and I don't have any complaints. Many things can be said about the injury but all of them are parts of life."

The wicket-keeper batter had to wait for a lengthy period to get back his place but unlike the past he's seemed to have matured a lot as he now understands that nothing is granted.

"Yes, that period is over (getting excited after knowing that I am picked) and did not have any reaction when two or three people congratulated me," Nurul said while playing for the Bangladesh A team in Top End T20 tournament in Australia.

"Getting a chance in the team today and getting dropped the next day… actually the success of life doesn't rely on it," he said.

"We are so much impatient. Let's say, if I play well today, there will be so much praises, and if I play bad the other day, there will be criticisms. So, it doesn't make me feel anything different and I don't want to react as well," he said.

Nurul said that earning stability is at the top of his priority list while added that as he is now in a better shape due to playing some other franchise leagues like the Global Super League.

"I wanted to get stable first. There are ups and downs in life and what is the most important to me is perform and stay in the team," he said. "Our life is not stable. Honestly, in Bangladeshi culture, we don't have the stability of life. So, gaining stability is very difficult, though it is very important to our life – in cricket career or daily life but it easy to say and difficult to execute," he said.

"I need to perform. I have played other franchise tournaments and know the difference between our country and those countries," he said.

"I think it is important for me to contribute for the team. Alhamdulillah, the tough time is over as a cricketer and I can feel it," he said. "Contributing for the team and performing is the most important for me," he said.

Bangladesh skipper Litton Kumar Das welcomed Nurul with open arms along with Saif Hasan and insisted that he is eyeing to give enough opportunities to prove his mettle.

"It's not that they (Nurul and Saif) will be dropped after one or two games," said Litton ahead of the tournament on Thursday.

In Bangladesh, middle-order and lower batters – a place Nurul is expected to come in the batting order – are often being under scrutiny for not contributing enough runs on the board.

Nurul insisted that he has stopped thinking about the pressure.

"I have accepted it totally (the pressure on the middle order) and here you cannot succeed every day. "It is difficult and at the same time, the 20-30 runs you scored (doesn't get noticed) and if you flop in one match and you are out," he said.

"It is normal as then it seems that we are not scoring runs for a long time and now I have stopped thinking about it," he said.

Whether the Bangladesh team management will have that trust and patience for Nurul only time will tell but one thing looks certain that he has seen both sides of the coin as he prepares to make a comeback in the three-match series against the Netherlands, scheduled at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium from August 30.