‘No opportunity for lobbying in the national team’ - Mortaza on Abu Jayed’s exclusion

 A few days ago, the right-arm medium pacer Abu Jayed Rahi expressed his disappointment over his exclusion from the Bangladesh squad for the home Test series against Sri Lanka scheduled to be played next month.

The selectors reckoned that they have shifted their focus to the fast bowlers with raw pace, than the medium pacers with the ability to extract swing, who can flourish in the home soil, and the away tours.

In 13 Test appearances, Jayed has scalped 30 wickets. He was a part of the squad for the recent South Africa and New Zealand series but did not feature in any fixtures.

In the recent interviews, the pacer felt that no one was lobbying for him, and some of the members didn't want him in the squad. However, in the latest development, the former Bangladesh captain, Mashrafe Mortaza, has opined on the claims made by Jayed.  

"There is no opportunity for lobbying in the national team," Mortaza said.

Mortaza thinks there is no scope for lobbying in the national team, and if the player does well, he stays on the team or vice-versa. However, he reckoned that Rahi is going through a rough patch and is hopeful of him returning to the team.

"In the national team, if you perform, you will play, and if you don't perform, you won't play. You have to be professional. Everyone goes through bad patches in life, and Rahi is going through that. Instead of discussing such things, I am hopeful he will find a way to return," Mashrafe added.

Mortaza added that he likes Jayed's attitude of never giving up but mentions that Taskin Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain are doing well. However, there's a lot of competition in the pace department.

Hossain was the key performer for the Bangladesh Test team to script a historical victory against New Zealand earlier this year.

"What I like about him is that he never gives up. Now Taskin [Ahmed], Ebadot [Hossain] are bowling well. This happens. Rubel [Hossain] came back after bowling well in New Zealand, and it was the last ODI he played for Bangladesh," the former captain added.

"There was little chance of Rubel being excluded, but others are bowling better than him. That's why it happened. Of course, it's frustrating for a player, but there is tremendous competition in Bangladesh's fast bowling department at the moment," Mortaza added.