Rishad Hossain is one of a rare and endangered species in Bangladesh - a legspinner.
Even as other countries have embraced legspinners for decades and developed them into potent weapons across formats, Bangladesh has largely ignored them, even in domestic cricket where left and right-arm orthodox spinners are preferred. It's because of the widespread perception among the country's officials, coaches and captains that legspinners are expensive in limited-overs cricket. Young leggies are advised to switch to offspin or to concentrate on batting. Dhaka clubs and first-class teams will shun you otherwise, they are told.
So Rishad, a lanky 21-year old from the country's northernmost region Rangpur, has made it to where few legspinners have got to before. He played the first two T20Is of the ongoing series against Sri Lanka, was consistent with his lengths, got hit a few times, and took a wicket. Nothing remarkable.
He had begun well in the first game in Sylhet before conceding 18 in his third over. It should have been the end of his spell but his captain Najmul Hossain Shanto brought Rishad back in the 15th over. A brave move considering Rishad's lack of cricket this season; in fact he's played only 52 competitive matches in the last six years. He dismissed Kusal Mendis, beating him with flight and having him caught at long-off, and ended with 1 for 32 in four overs.
In the second T20I, Shanto bowled Rishad in three single-over spells. He conceded only one six and one four on a very good batting pitch. "His length has improved a lot," Shanto said about Rishad. "He can bowl more consistently now. He is working on his variation too. He can bowl better if he continues in this vein."
Shanto, however, worries for Rishad, who is unlikely to play a lot of games in the upcoming Dhaka Premier League. It is considered Bangladesh's most important domestic tournament and Rishad has played only five matches in its last five seasons. He is supposed to represent defending champions Abahani Limited, who used him in two games last year.
"I think it is quite difficult for him. He doesn't get to play a lot of domestic matches," Shanto said. "It is unfortunate that teams don't use him. We don't know why that happens. He has bowled well in all of his international matches. He has done well against really good batters. He prepares himself quite well. He tries to execute the plans we give him. I am hopeful that he gets a bit more domestic cricket under his belt."
Despite his lack of opportunities in domestic cricket, Rishad has played ten international games since his debut in March last year. He's taken four wickets in seven T20I innings with an economy rate of 7.00, and gone wicketless in 12.2 overs in his two ODIs so far. His chances have coincided with the return of Chandika Hathurusinghe as Bangladesh's head coach. Hathurusinghe is the only person in Bangladesh cricket who has genuinely supported legspin.
In the first year of his first stint as Bangladesh coach in 2014, Hathurusinghe gave a Test debut to the little-known Jubair Hossain. Hathurusinghe had spotted Jubair in the Bangladesh nets a few months after his appointment as head coach. He was soon making his first-class debut for Bangladesh A against Zimbabwe A, and a Test debut came a few weeks later.
Hathurusinghe had fought in vain with chief selector Faruque Ahmed to pick Jubair for the 2015 ODI World Cup. He was considered too inexperienced for such an important campaign. It was also felt that some local coaches were shunning Jubair because Hathurusinghe was so insistent on the legspinner. Jubair didn't play international cricket for much longer and his domestic presence has been minimal over the years. Before Jubair, there was Alok Kapali, who took 31 international wickets including a hat-trick, but he was always considered a part-time bowler.
In a recent interview, Hathurusinghe said legspinners were of tremendous value in international cricket.
"I have spoken to the people who matter," Hathurusinghe said. "Not only this time, the previous time [when he was coach] as well. Sometimes when those things haven't happened, I have had to take an unconventional route. As you know, Jubair played Tests without playing much first-class cricket. Rishad has also been fast-tracked, but coaches and captains need to understand the value of legspinners. How to use legspinners.
"We need to have systems in place to identify the proper pathway for them. I have been involved in building two world-class legspinners: Adam Zampa and Tanveer Sangha. I know how much investment went towards their careers. When I saw Zampa in 2011, he was just another player. He turned out to be world class. We don't understand the value of a legspinner here. We are suffering because of that."
Rishad has played five first-class matches this season and four games in the BPL. He took a four-wicket haul in his first outing for Comilla Victorians but found himself out of the XI at the business end of the tournament. "Rishad is one for the future," Hathurusinghe said. "I am really trying to back him as much as we can. Unfortunately we are not getting enough support from local cricket. He is not even playing the BPL. I am very disappointed with that."
There are only a few legspinners in the Bangladesh cricket ecosystem at present. Aminul Islam, who played ten T20Is between 2019 and 2021 as a bowler, generally plays domestic cricket as a batter these days. Wasi Siddiquee was an exciting prospect for a while last year but didn't play any matches in the 2024 Under-19 World Cup in January. Mehedi Hasan Sohag and Jehadul Hoque made List A debuts this season but they didn't bowl enough to make any impact.
Rishad is likely to play a few more international matches this season. He is in the limited-overs squads against Sri Lanka, and will get a fair chance as long as Hathurusinghe is around. But the wider question remains: will he be given chances to develop in domestic cricket and is there a future for legspin in Bangladesh?