Abu Jayed's surprise ICC World Cup inclusion wasn't as talked about as Taskin Ahmed's snub, despite Jayed being an uncapped player in One-Day cricket then. It was Taskin who hogged all the attention, having made an emotional public appearance soon after he missed out on a World Cup berth, reports Cricbuzz.
Taskin, recovering from an ankle injury, could not hold back his tears when asked about his non-selection, which unfortunately made Jayed a bit of an anti-hero.
The inclusion of Taskin in the Ireland-bound team at the last minute only made for sensationalism, with the matters getting further more complicated after Taskin's three-wicket haul in the warm-up match. Jayed, on the other hand, had a cold ODI debut.
However, it did not take long for Jayed to make his presence felt. The 25-year-old picked his maiden five-wicket haul in only his second game, thus helping his side to reach the tri-series final on Wednesday.
It was a short-term payback of the faith the selectors had placed in him. More importantly, he's all but assured of a place in the final World Cup squad, which has to be announced by May 23.
''There were a lot of talk going around [in the social media]. Mashrafe bhai just told me that if you can handle the pressure of social media, than stay or else quit,'' Jayed told reporters. "I felt pressure in my debut match but today there was no pressure.
''Mashrafe bhai told me to bowl my heart out [against Ireland], just the way I bowled in the Dhaka Premier League or in the Bangladesh Premier League. He asked me to bowl without having any kind of doubt or fear and I just tried to follow his instruction."
