If anyone bowls a bouncer, I won’t spare them: Nahid

Nahid Rana arrived slightly ahead of schedule for the press conference following the end of the second day’s play in the ongoing second and final Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Sylhet on Sunday.

He initially appeared a bit out of place, as the broadcasters’ camera crew had not yet set up.

As fierce as Nahid is with the ball in hand, he is quite the opposite in his speech. Before the official press conference got underway, it was difficult to engage him in casual banter. He remained calm and composed in most of his responses, but as soon as the topic of bouncers came up, he delivered a stern warning -- with a smile.

While batting in the Mirpur Test, Nahid had taken a bouncer from Shaheen Shah Afridi, but later retaliated with the ball, unsettling Shaheen with a sharp bouncer of his own. Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto had jokingly remarked after their 104-run win in that Test: “If it were up to me, I would never bowl a bouncer to Nahid, because I have no desire to face a bouncer at that pace.”

No one tested Nahid with a bouncer in Sylhet.

When asked about that episode, Nahid broke out of his shy demeanour and showed his fiery side.

“I don’t know if they will think twice before bowling a bouncer, but I can say this much -- if anyone bowls a bouncer at me, I won’t spare them. I can guarantee that,” he said.

The young pacer had led Bangladesh to victory with a brilliant spell in the Mirpur Test and carried that momentum into Sylhet. He claimed three wickets for 60 runs to help restrict Pakistan to 232, giving Bangladesh a 46-run lead in the first innings.

Bangladesh ended the day on top, reaching 110 for three with a 156-run lead, as the hosts look to seal back-to-back series triumphs over Pakistan.

Pakistan were rebuilding through a resilient partnership between Babar Azam and Salman Ali Agha. However, Nahid broke through at a crucial post-lunch juncture by dismissing Babar -- his third dismissal of the batter in five meetings. Still, the pacer refused to single out the wicket as anything special.

“To be honest, I enjoy dismissing every batter. Every wicket is important for me and my team. You can’t really predict dismissals by saying a certain batter is a big name in world cricket. I just try to stick to my process and focus on executing my plans to help the team,” Nahid said.