Nahid Rana breathes hope into Bangladesh’s Test pace legacy. Protect him

Taskin Ahmed recently became only the third Bangladeshi pacer after Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain to reach 50 Test wickets, but it offered little real cause for celebration. For years, Bangladesh have leaned heavily on spin, with a thin and inconsistent history in fast bowling at the Test level.

Mashrafe began his career with genuine fire, but persistent knee injuries forced him to retire from Test cricket as early as 2009. Since then, several pacers; Abu Jayed, Rubel Hossain, Khaled Ahmed and Shafiul Islam amongst others, have come and gone, but none truly managed to build a lasting fast-bowling legacy for Bangladesh.

That narrative, however, is beginning to shift with the emergence of Nahid Rana. A few years ago in the Bangladesh Premier League, a tall, wiry 20-year-old in Khulna Tigers colours was already turning heads by regularly clocking over 145 kmph, an unusual sight in Bangladesh cricket at the time.

NAHID TURNS ON THE HEAT

His rise has since accelerated. When he played with Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL 2026, Nahid earned praise from former South Africa all-rounder JP Duminy, who noted his raw pace and growing control as a genuine threat to top-level batters. Nahid was initially erratic at the international level after his debut against Sri Lanka in 2024, but the speedster from Chapai Nawabgonj has steadily refined his skills, and the improvement is now evident.

On Tuesday, he delivered a landmark performance, becoming the only Bangladesh pacer to take a five-wicket haul in the fourth innings of a Test, helping the Tigers secure their first home Test win over Pakistan.

The excitement around him is real, but so is the caution. Managing a genuine tearaway quick is delicate work. Players like Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and James Anderson became long-term greats not just through talent, but careful workload management by their boards.

For Bangladesh, the challenge is clear: protect Nahid Rana wisely, or risk another promising fast-bowling story fading too soon.

HITTING BACK WITH FIRE

Against Pakistan, Nahid Rana showed the heart of a genuine fast bowler, raw, brutal, and fearless. Once he’s attacked, he hits back harder, and Shaheen Shah Afridi felt exactly that in a fiery exchange during the Test.

Earlier in the first innings, Shaheen struck Rana on the helmet with a sharp bouncer, but the young Bangladesh quick refused to back down. With renewed aggression, Rana came back and returned the intimidation, making sure Shaheen felt the pressure in kind.

In fact, Rana sealed the victory for Bangladesh by dismissing Shaheen with a sharp bouncer.

“If you hit Nahid Rana with a bouncer, you must be ready to face one from him too. I wouldn’t have bowled him one,” said Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, speaking about the pacer’s fearless mindset after the match.

It wasn’t just Shaheen who faced the heat. Other Pakistan batters also copped blows and discomfort as Rana consistently hit hard lengths and tested their resolve. With Shanto backing him fully, Bangladesh set attacking fields and created constant pressure, ensuring the Pakistan batters never found any breathing space.

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT

If you think Nahid Rana’s rise has been limited to Test cricket, you could not be more mistaken. The tearaway quick has been Bangladesh’s standout performer in ODIs this year, topping the wicket charts with 16 wickets in just six matches at an economy rate of 4.89, including two five-wicket hauls.

Such was his impact that Nahid became the first Bangladeshi pacer to win back-to-back ODI Player of the Series awards. His fiery spells powered Bangladesh to ODI series wins over Pakistan and New Zealand, significantly boosting their hopes of direct qualification for next year’s ODI World Cup.

In T20 cricket too, Nahid has started leaving his mark. While still finding his feet at the international level, his nine wickets in five matches for Peshawar Zalmi in this season’s PSL offered a glimpse of the damage he can inflict in the shortest format.

Unlike Shoriful Islam or Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid did not emerge through the well-trodden U19 pathway. Instead, it was his raw pace, which is rare in Bangladesh cricket, that forced selectors to fast-track him into the national setup. His first two years in international cricket could hardly have gone better.

Yet, Bangladesh’s responsibility does not end with discovering Nahid. The Bangladesh Cricket Board must now nurture him carefully, protect his body, manage his workload and ensure that this rare fast-bowling gem continues to shine, not just in bilateral series but on the biggest stages in world cricket.

– Ends