The timely rise of Aminul
The 19-year old leggie delivered upon that promise in the first match of the tour.
The current generation of tiger fans may not remember the last successful leggie for the national side. Alok Kapali though was picked for his all-round prowess rather than his leg-breaks. But 30 international wickets in 86 matches across two formats left a lot to be desired, even after a hattrick in Test matches.
Of course, we all remember the brief stint by Zubair Hossain, But he disappeared as quickly he arrived. He shined in the longer version but faded too quickly for a reminiscence. He played 10 matches across all the formats, collecting 22 wickets in a career spanning a little more than 12 months.
After that, the wait started for a leg spinner. A country with a rich heritage of producing finger spinners per-excellence like Mohammad Rafique, Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam, was struggling to find a wrist spinner. Then came Aminul Islam.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Like his more famous namesake and predecessor, Aminul was recognized as a batsman who could bowl a little. But to everyone's surprise, he came good with his leg-breaks.
Aminul did not exactly burst out on to the scene as many have assumed but a subtle display against Zimbabwe in his first match made the cricket enthusiasts take a closer look at him.
Aminul did not turn the ball a lot like Adam Zampa nor did he possessed the briskness of Rashid Khan. It was his control though, which grabbed everyone's attention.
He returned with figures of 18/2 from four overs in his opening bout for the national team. Pretty decent in every aspect. Decent enough to earn him a call for the India series. The selectors found something really promising in his bowling.
The 19-year old leggie delivered upon that promise in the first match of the tour. He bowled a miserly spell with two important wickets of KL Rahul and S Iyer. Picking them up with fuller length and turners outside off stump.
Any spinner would take three wickets for 22 from three overs against the best side against spin bowling. In only his second international outing Aminul was instrumental to keep India below 150.
In a series without Shakib, Aminul did put a hefty amount on the plate for the Tiger team management. It won't be a surprise if he gets to keep his spot ahead of two senior pros in Arafat Sunny and Taijul Islam for the rest of the series.
