Bangladesh’s debutant fast bowler Abu Jayed, who claimed four of the five wickets in India’s innings in the Indore Test recently, said he got tips from Indian pacer Mohammed Shami after the first match and spoke about his preparation for the pink-ball Test which will be played at Kolkata's Eden Gardens from November 22.
Jayed's performance, which saw him dismissing the world’s two leading batsmen Rohit Sharma and Indian captain Virat Kohli and vice captain Ajinkya Rahane, was one of the few bright spots for Bangladesh in the first Test in Indore which the visiting side lost by an innings and 130 runs.
In a bid to improve even further, the 26-year-old right arm bowler sought advice from Shami who stood out as India's best bowler in the first Test, with returns of 3/27 and 4/31 from two innings.
Jayed said "I spoke with Shami bhai on Saturday. There are some similarities between him and me since we both use the seam. I have seen him bowl a lot of times and I paid extra attention to how he was bowling. I have compared his height to mine to find out if he is taller than me or of equal height. Then I figured maybe I could bowl like him.”
Jayed had the in-form Rohit Sharma caught behind for six in the final session of the opening day in Indore and followed it up with wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli next morning to give his side some hope. He later removed Rahane for 86.
He could've even had another Indian opener Mayank Agarwal, who went on to score a spendind double century, early on the second day but was denied as Imrul Kayes dropped the catch in the slip cordon. Jayed, however, was pleased about dismissing Pujara and Kohli, whom he regards very highly.
"It's not frustrating; I don't bother about missed chances too much," the bowler said of the dropped catch. "I believe it's part of cricket. I do accept that catches are supposed to be held on to but one can't change the past by thinking about it. If I keep thinking about the missed chances, it will affect me adversely,” Jayed said.
"That's why I try to create more chances at times like these because they might take those ones. For example, Saif took a great catch which dismissed Pujara, it is also a part of cricket. It was an amazing feeling to dismiss the two best batsmen of our times. Getting Virat Kohli's wicket was like a dream come true," he said.
Jayed also talked about his own preparations with the pink-ball during the day/night Test.
'My brother got me a pink ball from England some 8-10 months ago. That was the first time I saw a pink ball in person. I did not have the opportunity to bowl with it but I did some seaming. I still have that ball at home. Our squad did have a practice session with the pink ball back at Dhaka but I was playing at NCL (National Cricket League) at that time," according to Jayed.
He said as the pink ball is a new feature, “we also need to measure the amount of movement the ball gives off. I should also get a hold of the amount of swing that is on offer."
Jayed is more focused on pitching the ball in the right areas – a method backed by Bangladesh bowling coach Charles Langveldt.
"Langveldt's bowling philosophy is that we should not get too bogged down because of our lack of pace. A lot of Indian pacers are doing really well with not much pace. Follow the line they are bowling at. Don't worry about the pace, just try to bowl at the right spots," he said.
