Time for us to step up: Jayed

Abu Jayed was the second highest wicket-taker in the 2017 BPL. The 24-year-old pacer from Sylhet then entered the international scene in the second T20i against Sri Lanka in February this year, where he conceded 45 runs for one wicket from four overs. He was retained for the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka but did not play any matches, so his inclusion for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan reflects the selector's long-term aim. Before that, former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed singled him out as a future prospect along with Abul Hasan, Abu Hider and Ebadat Hossain after the end of his week-long stint as the High Performance fast bowling consultant in August 2016.

Can the right-arm pacer grab a spot in the national team, namely filling the gap left by Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's departure from T20 cricket more than a year ago?

"It is time for us, the young pacers, to take responsibility as there are not many senior pacers in the team except for Rubel [Hossain] bhai and Mustafizur [Rahman], who has got some experience," Jayed told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

"The young pacers like me, [Abu Hider] Rony, Mustafizur -- we are all working on building our confidence. We are fully committed and confident," he added.

He said that confidence is vital when it comes to making an impact at the highest level. "International cricket is a tough place and we are preparing so that we can represent the country well in the coming days. We spoke to [Khaled Mahmud] Sujon bhai today and he said it totally depends on us how we approach international cricket -- it is easy if you take it easy and vice versa. If you are confident you can bowl well on any platform, be it international or domestic competition," he opined.

Jayed was yet to get the opportunity to work with legendary former West Indies pace bowler and interim head coach Courtney Walsh, instead so far working with Champaka Ramanayake -- the Sri Lankan who taught the young paceman that line is the most important thing in T20 cricket.

Jayed was hopeful that the pacers will do well in Dehradun and the good news, according to team manager Mahmud, was that there was likely to be good bounce on offer.

"I don't think we are going to get spin-friendly wickets as we were informed by our officials who visited the venue that there was grass on the wicket," informed Mahmud.