South African fast bowling legend Allan Donald has been heavily credited for his role in Bangladesh’s pace revolution during his tenure as the team’s pace bowling coach from March 2022 to November 2023. The 57-year-old, who resigned after the ICC World Cup in India, is still a big supporter of the Tigers and keeps in touch with the Bangladesh pacers. On Monday, Donald spoke with The Daily Star’s Samsul Arefin Khan over the phone from Johannesburg, where he expressed immense pleasure at seeing his former pupils doing so well in Pakistan. Here are the excerpts:

Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahmud revealed that the Tigers were looking to finish the game by the end of Day 4 of the second Test against Pakistan at the Rawalpindi Stadium on Monday.

Bangladesh’s pace trio of Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana and Taskin Ahmed ran roughshod over Pakistan and etched their names in the annals of the country’s cricket by taking all 10 wickets in Pakistan’s second innings in the second Test in Rawalpindi today.

Bangladesh speedster Taskin Ahmed made an instant impact on his return to Test cricket after 14 months as he came up with a sensational bowling performance on the second day of the second Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi yesterday.

Bangladesh bowlers, led by off-spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz, had a field day on Day 2 of the second Test against Pakistan at the Rawalpindi Stadium yesterday as their efforts bundled out the hosts for 274.

“He wants to play Tests, and we will talk to the medical team,” a member of the selection panel told The Daily Star.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) physio Bayjedul Islam Khan said that pacer Taskin Ahmed’s shoulder injury has not aggravated and that he can manage it and play in the longer formats. 

Bangladesh are awaiting key returnees to the Test outfit ahead of the Pakistan series in mid-August with ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan confirmed as available while pacer Taskin Ahmed, who had decided to sit out Tests owing to injury issues at the beginning of the year, is likely to return to the red-ball format.

Bangladesh’s pace bowling trio Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed had contrasting experiences in their respective matches in the ongoing Lanka Premier League. 

Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who is Bangladesh’s sole representative in Major League Cricket (MLC) 2024, scored a 13-ball 18 and claimed one wicket leaking 32 runs in three overs for Los Angeles Knight Riders

What happens inside the team environment usually stays out of public knowledge, but this time the news about Taskin was leaked quite some time after the World Cup game in question.

“So, when Taskin actually had reached the field, it was probably five to ten minutes before the toss," said Shakib

Bangladesh’s performances in the Super Eights of the T20 World Cup showed that team is lacking in many crucial aspects. But lack of courage was again evident, especially in how Bangladesh threw in the towel thinking they would not be able to chase down Afghanistan’s total in 12.1 overs in the th

The Tigers remain the only team to have participated in all nine editions of the T20 World Cup without reaching the semi-finals.

It has been another instance of injury troubles for Bangladesh’s pace battery in a major event.

Pacer Taskin Ahmed’s injury had been a big talking point ahead of the announcement of Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup squad. Speculations grew before he was eventually included but there were doubts regarding his availability for Bangladesh’s initial games.

Lanka Premier League (LPL) side Colombo Strikers have picked Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed for his base price of USD 50,000 in the players’ auction

“In T20 Cricket, yes, batting order will be changing. That's just normal cricket," said the Bangladesh head coach.

Despite his injury status, pacer Taskin Ahmed found himself part of the 15-member World Cup squad but also with the vice-captaincy role.

Bangladesh’s chairman of the selection committee Gazi Ashraf Lipu said star bowler Taskin Ahmed’s inclusion in the 15-member T20 World Cup squad was based on his tentative recovery ‘at some point’ in the major tournament.