'If someone bowls bouncers at me, I will not spare them'

Bangladesh fast bowler Nahid Rana has issued a bold warning to any bowler brave enough to target him with short-pitched deliveries, saying he will give back as good as he gets — and then some.

"I do not know whether they will think twice or not, but I can say this much — if someone bowls bouncers at me, I will not spare them," Rana said after the second day's play of the Sylhet Test against Pakistan on Sunday.

The bouncer battle between Rana and Pakistan's bowlers has been one of the defining subplots of the series. It began in Mirpur, where Shaheen Shah Afridi hit Rana with a bouncer in the first innings of the first Test. 

Rana responded in kind, striking debutant opener Azan Awais on the helmet in the same innings. He did not stop there — Rana went on to architect Bangladesh's famous Mirpur Test win with a five-wicket haul of 5-40, with the final wicket being Shaheen himself, fending a Rana bouncer to short leg where Mahmudul Hasan Joy held the catch.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has been firmly in Rana's corner throughout, backing his fast bowler's aggressive mindset and sending a message of his own to Pakistan.

"They also know that if they bounce Rana, they will have to face the music. If I was the captain, I wouldn't bounce Rana. I don't have the desire to face a bouncer at that pace," Najmul said with a laugh.