Exclusive: Nurul Hasan Eyes Stability Over Hype After Long-Awaited Bangladesh Recall

Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan is not losing sleep over his return to the national setup after a three-year absence. 

For the 30-year-old, who has weathered injuries, surgeries and long spells on the sidelines, simply being back in the dressing room is not the measure of success.

Instead, Nurul insists he is focused on something more enduring: building stability in his career rather than chasing fleeting highs.

A COMEBACK WITHOUT FANFARE

Nurul’s cricketing future once hung in the balance when a fractured index finger required multiple surgeries. 

The injury, sustained while captaining Bangladesh’s T20I side on the 2022 tour of Zimbabwe, forced him to miss the remainder of that series as well as the Asia Cup that followed.

Though he worked his way back into competitive cricket through consistent performances in domestic tournaments and for Bangladesh A, the national selectors overlooked him for years.

Now, he has finally been recalled for the ongoing three-match T20I series against the Netherlands and included in the Asia Cup squad. Yet, his reaction was strikingly subdued.

“Yes, that period is over (getting excited after knowing that I am picked) and did not have any reaction when two or three people congratulated me after getting picked in the squad for the Netherland series and the Asia Cup,” Nurul told SportsBoom.com, in an exclusive chat.

“Getting a chance in the team today and getting dropped the next day... actually the success of life doesn't rely on it,” he added.

The wicketkeeper-batsman says he has learned not to be carried away by either praise or criticism. 

“We are so much impatient. Let's say, if I play well today, there will be so much praises, and if I play bad the other day, there will be criticisms. So, it doesn't make me feel anything different and I don't want to react as well,” he explained.

BATTLING THROUGH SURGERIES AND SETBACKS

The finger injury that interrupted his career continues to shape Nurul’s outlook. What began as a routine fracture spiralled into two operations, one complicated by infection.

“Injury is a part of life. The trauma varies from man-to-man but I have taken it as a part of life and I don't have any complaints. Many things can be said about the injury but all of them are parts of life,” Nurul reflected.

“I had to have two surgeries for a fracture in one of my fingers. When I went for the surgery for the second time, then the doctor – after seeing the x-ray and other reports said, 99 percent of human beings do not need any surgery for this injury. You had a surgery. And now, you need to have another surgery for the infection."

The lengthy rehabilitation and repeated procedures disrupted his rhythm at a crucial stage. 

“I had a gap due to the rehab and the other proceedings and somehow lost the momentum which was difficult for me because I created my place for national team,” he admitted.

If the setback was physically painful, it was also emotionally testing. Nurul acknowledges that the trauma of injury can affect players differently but maintains he has chosen acceptance.

“The trauma varies from man-to-man but I have taken it as a part of life and I don't have any complaints,” he said. 

“Many things can be said about the injury but all of them are parts of life.”

SEEKING STABILITY ABOVE EVERYTHING

What Nurul craves now is not another comeback story or headlines about redemption. 

Rather, he is searching for consistency, the ability to stay in the team and perform without being defined by ups and downs.

“I wanted to get stable first. There are ups and downs in life and what is the most important to me is perform and stay in the team."

“Our life is not stable. Honestly, in Bangladeshi culture, we don't have the stability of life. So, gaining stability is very difficult, though it is very important to our life – in cricket career or daily life. But it is easy to say and difficult to execute,” he added.

For Hasan, stability is now the ultimate goal. 

The scars of his surgeries serve as a reminder of what he has endured, but also of the resilience required to continue competing at the highest level. His return may not have been marked by loud celebrations, but it reflects a quiet determination, the kind that could yet prolong his journey in Bangladesh colours.