Rana resurfaces after 25-month hiatus

Once a bright prospect for the national team, left-arm pacer Mehedi Hasan Rana, who rose to prominence with his stellar performances in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) in 2019, had been absent in first-class cricket for 25 months.

His struggles began just a day before the last National Cricket League (NCL) season, when the 27-year-old fractured his hand, forcing him to miss the first-class competition and the subsequent Bangladesh Cricket League.

After regaining fitness, Rana was signed by BPL's Fortune Barishal, who eventually won the title. However, he did not get a chance to play due to team composition.

Reflecting on his struggles, Rana admitted, "I blame myself for not performing in the 2023 BPL for Chattogram Challengers," referring to his earlier success in the 2019–20 BPL, where he bagged 18 wickets for Chattogram Challengers. He followed that season with 11 wickets in eight matches for Barishal, who were runners-up that year.

Meanwhile, in the last Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League in April this year, he got only one match for Legends of Rupganj, who relied more on pacers like Abdul Halim, Al-Amin Hossain, and Mashrafe bin Mortaza. As a result, Rana, along with Sumon Khan, spent most of the season on the bench.

"I was unlucky last season," Rana told The Daily Star after claiming 5-65 for Khulna Division against his former side, Chattogram Division, in the first innings in Sylhet in the sixth-round match of the ongoing NCL.

Rana's return to the field was far from easy. Initially drafted into the Chattogram squad, he had to secure an NOC from the management before finally joining Khulna to feature in his first first-class match since October 2022.

"I was out of red-ball cricket for the last two years… I felt I might not get a chance to play for Chattogram this season," he said.

Rana also faced challenging days in 2022 when Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) banned him for a month after he made "unacceptable" comments about a national selector on his Facebook page.

In the post, Rana had claimed that a BCB selector had phoned him and told him to join the 'A' team. However, despite the team holding a practice session the following day, he wasn't called up, leading to an expression of frustration on social media.

Rana now says he has moved past the incident and is focused on reviving his career. "I don't think the selectors have kept these [previous misconducts] in their minds," he said.

"I have always tried to remain fit… After the Premier League, I worked with [Mohammad] Salahuddin sir at the MASCO for three months. I was waiting for my turn to come, and it finally arrived.

"I have been in regular communication with Hannan [Sarkar] bhai… He wished me good luck to perform well here," said Rana, who, however, is yet to secure a BPL team for the upcoming season and also remains uncertain about being picked in Barishal's final squad for the NCL T20.