Just as Rangana Herath was in the shadow of Muttiah Muralitharan, and Stuart MacGill in the shadow of Shane Warne, Taijul Islam has often been somewhat overshadowed by the brilliance of Shakib Al Hasan.
Statistics tell the reality. Since Taijul’s debut, Bangladesh bowlers have taken a five-wicket haul 12 times in Tests where Shakib Al Hasan did not play. Taijul alone has claimed nine of those.
Overall, in Test cricket, Taijul has taken five wickets in an innings 13 times, the latest being today (Monday) in Mirpur. On the first day of the first Test against South Africa, Taijul reached the milestone of a five-wicket haul.
Along with that, he became the second Bangladeshi bowler to reach 200 wickets. In this race, Taijul has even surpassed Shakib. As the fastest Bangladeshi bowler to this milestone, he achieved it in just 48 Tests (85 innings), while Shakib took 54 Tests.
Yet, Taijul has often been overlooked, regularly finding himself as the third spinner in the playing XI. Not only did Shakib secure his spot, but Mehidy Hasan Miraz also got the nod because of his batting abilities.
However, with Shakib’s departure, Taijul Islam is now the team’s lead spinner. Given the leadership, he immediately showed his brilliance. Now, Taijul’s goal is to extend his career as far as possible.
Does Taijul feel deprived because of Shakib? Is Shakib’s retirement a relief for him? In response to such a question during the post-match press conference, an uncomfortable Taijul said, “Deprived? Your question seems a bit off. There’s nothing to feel deprived about.”
“There are many cases like this in the world. There were great players, and during their time, others got fewer opportunities. During Muralitharan’s time, Herath didn’t get much chance to play. Later, Herath took many wickets and played for a long time. Inshallah, let’s see if something good happens for me in the future.”
Despite these impressive statistics, Taijul has no regrets about being less discussed. He said he has come to accept everything. “In our country, honestly, a lot happens by word of mouth. Many players who performed poorly were trolled and became stars, while others performed well and didn’t get that recognition. It has happened a lot. I’ve accepted it. There’s no other option but to accept it,” he said.
When asked if Bangladesh would miss Shakib, Taijul responded by acknowledging the reality, saying, “It’s not that we haven’t played without Shakib Bhai. Even when he was available, we played several matches without him. When we won the Test in New Zealand, Shakib Bhai wasn’t there.”
“When we beat New Zealand here, Shakib Bhai wasn’t there either. There are many examples. The truth is, you can’t have a player play for 50 years. One will come, and another will leave,” Taijul added.
In previous interviews, Taijul mentioned his desire to take many wickets in Test cricket. Once again, he spoke in the same tone. He expressed his wish to finish his Test career with 350 to 400 wickets. However, the biggest obstacle to that ambition might be how many Tests Bangladesh will play during that time.
Taijul himself highlighted that reality, saying, “First, we need to see how many Tests we have in the next five years. I’ll calculate that first, then I’ll understand. If we have only 10 Tests, it’ll be difficult,” Taijul said with a smile.
