‘Not surprised seeing him succeed’

Hobart Hurricanes head coach Jeff Vaughan said Rishad Hossain earned his success in the recently concluded Big Bash League (BBL) by being brave with his changes of pace and mixing offence and defence well, both in-match and within an over.

Rishad returned home earlier this week following a brilliant campaign in Australia's Big Bash.

“We were very happy to select Rishad in the BBL draft and pleased that he was fully available for the tournament,” Vaughan told Daily Sun recently.

“Rishad has been a real success story in Australia as he learned how to bowl on Australian wickets very quickly and so he's fitted in well to Hobart Hurricanes,” he said.

“He's learnt how to bowl on Australian wickets, which as you know are a little bit more bouncy and don't spin as much as home, but he's done a really great job in—in getting—in learning how to bowl over there,” he added.

Featuring for the Hurricanes, the 23-year-old leg-spinner took 15 wickets from 11 innings to finish as the joint-leading wicket-taker among spinners in the tournament.

Rishad consistently provided breakthroughs in a competition dominated by power hitters, fast bowling, and flat pitches. He did not rely on defensive bowling or protection from his captain; instead, he was used as an attacking option, often throwing the ball when partnerships were building or when Australia’s biggest names were at the crease.

Rishad repaid the faith of the team management by claiming the wickets of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Mohammad Rizwan, Jake Fraser-McGurk (twice), Matt Renshaw, Moises Henriques, Aaron Hardie, and others. All fell to Rishad’s variations and, crucially, many arrived at moments that shifted the match momentum.

“Rishad clearly has great skills with the ball and all the attributes of a wonderful leg spin bowler. Rish has great control, is hard to pick with his differing varieties and reads the game very well and is brave with his changes of pace and mixes offence and defence well in game and in over,” said Vaughan.

“Rish is inquisitive of his own game and any potential improvements he can make and works well with our coaches on his skills. He also enquires about opposition analysis that allows Rishad to implement tactics that give him the best chance of success in game,” he said.

Vaughan added that although Rishad did not get much opportunity with the bat, after watching him closely, he feels the player can also shine with the willow.

“One area that may go unnoticed is Rishad’s ability in the field and with the bat. We have had him down the order so far through the tournament, but he clearly has a batting game that can be successful in this format anywhere in the middle and potentially the top of a batting order. He is also a very good fieldsman with ability to field both in ring and on the boundary,” said Vaughan.

“We have been so appreciative of all that Rishad has offered the Hobart Hurricanes and hope that we can continue working together over the coming years,” he said.

Vaughan added that he was not surprised to see Rishad succeed in the BBL, as everyone from David Hemp to former head coach Chandika Hathurusingha expected him to shine.

“I'm not surprised seeing him succeed,” said Vaughan. 

“I speak to Hemp, I speak to the overseas coaches that have worked with him, Hathu (Hathurusingha) etc, and no one's surprised that he's doing so well because everyone thinks he's an excellent cricketer. And it just shows you that again, which doesn't surprise any of us, is that the talent in Bangladesh is really high. We've just got to get an opportunity to release that talent and show that talent off,” he concluded.