Memoirs of an international fast bowler: The Taskin Ahmed story

With an uncertain career span and an overtly-taxing workload in times of break-neck batting feats, the decision to pick up the red cherry and vow to be a fast bowler is not easy. As cricket frequently changes attire, adhering to the demands of the changing times, the rigours of being a fast bowler have been on the ascendancy. So, what prompts a youngster to walk down this rocky road and dabble with negligible margin of error?

A pacer from the East of the Brahmaputra, who steered clear of the preferred art in those parts - slow left-arm bowling - recalled his initiation with leather ball cricket. January 10, 2007, he says, was the first time he set foot on the famed Abohani ground of Dhaka, irking his disciplinarian father (Mr. Abdul Rashid) who preferred academic excellence to exploits on the field, for his ward. Bangladesh's Taskin Ahmed was all of 12 when he broke a 'strict curfew' at home and paid the price for it. Interestingly, Taskin chuckles as he lays out the day's events that culminated in a back-breaking exercise.