Who is Nahid Rana? 5 interesting facts about pacer who dismissed Babar Azam twice in PAK vs BAN 2024 series

Nahid Rana has become the talk of the town after his marvelous bowling performance in the ongoing Test series between Bangladesh and Pakistan. The fast bowler has taken five wickets for Bangladesh in the ongoing Test match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

In the first innings, he dismissed Mohammad Rizwan before he bowled his career-best spell of 4/44 to stun the Pakistani batters in the second innings. Rana accounted for the wickets of Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel and Abrar Ahmed to complete his maiden four-wicket haul in Test cricket.

It is pertinent to note that Nahid Rana bagged Babar Azam's wicket in the first Test of this series as well. Here are five interesting facts about the right-arm pacer from Bangladesh.

---

#1 Nahid Rana is just 21 years old

Rana is one of the youngest players in Bangladesh's Test team right now. The right-arm fast bowler was born on October 2, 2002, in Chapai Nawabganj. Rana is currently 21 years and 336 days old.

The youngster made headlines when he clocked 140kmph consistently on the speedometer in first-class cricket. He made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Sylhet earlier this year, where he bagged five wickets.

---

#2 Nahid Rana picked up Mohammad Ashraful's wicket on his first-class debut

Mohammad Ashraful is one of the most popular cricketers in Bangladesh's cricket history. The veteran batter played 61 Tests, 177 ODIs and 23 T20Is for his nation and even had a stint with Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

Three years ago, Ashraful featured for Barisal Division in the National Cricket League 2021 match against Rajshahi Division. Rana made his first-class debut for Rajhshai in that game and dismissed Ashraful for just one run in the second innings.

---

#3 Nahid Rana has shared the dressing room with Alex Hales, Wayne Parnell and other international stars

At 21, Rana already has the experience of playing two seasons of the Bangladesh Premier League. He has played five matches for the Khulna Tigers across two seasons.

Several big names of world cricket like Alex Hales, Wayne Parnell, Evin Lewis, Tamim Iqbal, Wahab Riaz, Shai Hope and Rubel Hossain were a part of the Khulna dressing room along with Rana in the two BPL seasons.

---

#4 Nahid Rana became the first Bangladeshi bowler to clock 150kmph in Test cricket

Rana has played only three Tests but he already has a national record to his name. The 21-year-old made history by becoming the first Bangladeshi bowler to bowl a delivery at the speed of 150kmph in a Test match.

Historically, Bangladesh have relied on medium pacers and spinners for success in Test cricket. However, the Tigers now have their own express fast bowler.

---

#5 Nahid Rana started taking cricket seriously at the age of 18

It may surprise a few fans but Rana joined the Clemon Cricket Academy when he was 18. He started playing the sport seriously just three years ago and is now already in Bangladesh's Test team.

As per TBS News, Rana's pace earned the attention of former Bangladesh player Alamgir Kabir, who then started to coach him.

While Rana could not make it to Bangladesh's U-19 World Cup 2022 squad, he received an opportunity to bowl against Najmul Hossain Shanto and Jahurul Islam in the nets. He impressed the batters and subsequently earned an NCL deal.