Interest shifts to off-spin

Out of the five rounds played in the National Cricket League so far, only two were able to see left-arm spinner Enamul Haque Jr bowl for Sylhet as there was not a single ball bowled throughout the first two rounds while the third saw only one and a half day's play competed due to inclement weather.

Despite a wicketless fourth round, he finished the fifth with a match haul of ten wickets against Dhaka Metro at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday.

Veterans such as Abdur Razzak and Enamul have been carrying the flag of left-arm spin bowling in the domestic circuit for awhile now as newcomers have yet to make a mark, although, young Nihaduzzaman has had an impressive run in the competition with 17 wickets from four games.

"If I am not wrong, young guys are now more interested in bowling off-spin rather than left-arm spin and I even see some young leg-spinners. It may happen as there is a demand for good off-spinners and leg-spinners from the national team management," said Enamul.

Enamul, who was ecstatic with his ten wicket haul, believes that, these days, taking wickets is not so easy anymore. "I began my first-class career in 2003, so I have good experience and what I see is that a lot has changed in the NCL. True, the wickets were flat but I must say batting wise we improved a lot as the batsmen showed lot of patience to play big knocks and that's why it's not easy to claim ten wickets," he explained.

One cannot forget his bowling heroics during Bangladesh's maiden Test victory over Zimbabwe in 2005 but he failed to live up to expectations in his international career. "Now I am 32-years old but you never know what will happen in life. At this moment my main objective is to play good cricket for the next five years in domestic cricket," said Enamul, who has played 15 Tests and ten ODIs.