Jubair looking within

With high expectations on his shoulders when he was picked straight from a net session and thrust into the national team by then head coach Chandika Hathurusingha in October 2014, leg-spinner Jubair Hossain has somehow lost his way since.

Since making his Test debut at the age of 18, Jubair impressed with his ability to bowl in a particular area consistently and picked up his maiden five wicket haul in his third Test against Zimbabwe in November 2014.

The cricketer from Jamalpur however was unable to utilise his talent for a prolonged spell and his national career stalled after just seven Tests, three ODIs and a solitary T20I. Much of the blame for that was Jubair's own as he lacked fitness, but there was also a lack of guidance from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

More than three years later, the 22-year-old is now hard at work on his fitness and is bowling regularly at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. He said yesterday that he had lost weight and was also gaining confidence in his bowling.

"I have been working individually on my fitness and bowling for the past one month. I was not that fit before but now I have lost some weight and also gotten fitter. I am bowling at least 20 overs each day under [Human Kabir] Shahin bhai, who is helping me with my bowling. Normally the board does not offer facilities to everyone, but luckily I am getting it and I was also included in the High Performance side, so I am thankful to the BCB," Jubair told reporters in Mirpur.

Interestingly, Jubair did not feature in any of the domestic games this season. He however said that such things are not in his hands and that he is only waiting for the opportunity.

At a time when leg-spinners like Rashid Khan, Imran Tahir and Yuzvendra Chahal are among the top 10 T20I bowlers, for someone with Jubair's strong  start it may seem a misfortune to not be in the limelight. To his credit, Jubair was not looking for excuses but instead said that his downfall was because of his young age and lack of hard work.

"To be honest I have nothing to do about it [not being picked in domestic cricket] and maybe there is some problem in me, which is the reason that the clubs are not interested. Maybe it's because of the team combination too but I won't blame anyone; maybe it's my fault," he added.