Bangladesh opener Imrul Kayes has once again proved his supremacy with the willow and experience as an important weapon by hitting a gritty century in the team’s all-important 28-runs win over Zimbabwe in the One Day International series opener on Sunday (October 2) at Mirpur Stadium.
His experience has been making the difference for Bangladesh in tough situations and eventually, they went on to win that matches since Kayes got a lifeline to revive his career in the white-ball game in the Asia Cup 2018 in the UAE. Kayes’ 78 against Afghanistan in the virtual semi-final set Bangladesh to play final against Indian and now his 144 off 140 balls saved the Tigers from embarrassing defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe at home.
Following the match in Mirpur, Imrul told reporters that his heroics against Afghanistan was very special for him as it installed confidence in him, as well as, helped him to know his strength and limitations and even went on to rate that special inning ahead of everything even his latest Zimbabwe knock.
Kayes quoted as per Cricbuzz, “I would keep the innings against Afghanistan ahead of everything as it was very special for me. I scored in a tournament like Asia Cup after I got a sudden call in the team. Obviously, it was very challenging for me and I played that very well. I will put that ahead (of the knock against Zimbabwe) because it had helped me know my strength and limitations. When you score a century or play good innings that help your team win, it's always a great feeling. I built up the innings at a crucial time and scored for the team which is a matter of joy for me.”
Meanwhile, the left-hander never managed to hog the spotlight because of his batting style and approach, while his batting order changed with times throughout his 10-year international career and despite having a decent average 47.25 in 18 ODIs, and is still not an automatic choice in the format.
He signed off by saying, “All the players have ups and downs in their career. No one can keep the same consistency. My situation is somewhat different. Someone may have played well in my place which made them axe me from the side. But I am not thinking about all this now and I just want to keep working hard to get the chance to play for the country.”
(Input: Cricbuzz)
