Rubel eager to change Sylhet fortunes

Bangladesh fast bowler Rubel Hossain will be looking to transform the fortunes of the Sylhet Super Stars when he makes his much-awaited return from injury today against Comilla Victorians.

Rubel suffered a side-strain injury back in September this year and subsequently missed the recent home series against Zimbabwe. And in his absence, the Super Stars have struggled badly, losing all of their four matches.

The Super Stars therefore, will be counting on Rubel for inspiration as the opening match of the 2015 Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20’s second phase takes place today at Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

“I am feeling much better at the moment. I have bowled [yesterday] and the day before that and I was able to give my hundred percent without any discomfort. There has been a gap but I will be playing [today],” Rubel told the media yesterday following their training session.

Mushfiqur Rahim’s Sylhet came agonisingly close to winning three of their four matches but lost them by an aggregate margin of only eight runs. Rubel however, believes they are more than capable of making a comeback and posting their maiden win of BPL 3.

“I think it’s part of the game. We already lost four games but still we have six more matches left. If we can give our best we will be able to make a comeback in the tournament. Obviously it feels bad when you lose matches and it was a difficult time for us,” said the right-arm fast bowler.

Rubel added that the wickets in the port city of Chittagong will be slightly better compared to the ones in Dhaka. The opening phase saw a lot of runs at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium but eventually, the tracks turned into a heaven for the bowlers, thus paving the way for some below-par totals.

“Yes, obviously, we have played many games in Chittagong before and I think the pitches will be better in comparison to Dhaka. I think we can start differently [today]. There is no extra pressure on me but first, we need to win matches as we have already lost four games. I think a win will change the scenario,” said Rubel.