Bangladesh still looking for Mehidy's best role in T20Is

Tigers face India in final T20 today

FE Team | Published: October 11, 2024 23:06:34

Bangladesh fielding coach Nic Pothas said the team was still trying to zero in on the best role for Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the T20I team and that the ongoing India series was a learning curve in more than one way, report agencies.
The final match of the series will take place today (Saturday) at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium. Ahead of this, Bangladesh's batting failures throughout the series were a key point in Friday's press conference by the team's assistant coach, Nic Pothas.
For this series, the 26-year-old Mehidy returned to Bangladesh's T20I squad after a gap of 14 months following Shakib Al Hasan's retirement from the format. But with another veteran cricketer, Mahmudullah, too exiting T20Is, the team management will have to figure out which of these two roles they expect Mehidy to take over.
Mehidy is yet to establish himself as a T20I bowler capable of bowling four overs each time. But with the bat, he can play the finisher's role that Mahmudullah currently dons and shares a similar propensity to take the game deep.
Interestingly, regular off-spinner Sheikh Mahedi has had to make way to accommodate Mehidy in the shortest format. Mahedi is widely regarded for his ability to bowl in the PowerPlay and can also hit out down the order.
"It's very conditions based and we're very fortunate to have Miraz because he can bat at the top of the order and he can bat at the middle order and we have seen the progress he has made from a batting point of view," Pothas told reporters ahead of the Hyderabad T20I on Friday.
"You know we have tried him at the top with the ball which he has done well in the past. The last game, it can happen, it's T20. He gives us options because he has three skills which are of a very high quality.
"So at the moment because he wasn't at the T20 World Cup again we are going to be using him in different positions to actually find a role where he will play for the future. But at the moment we are very fortunate to have a international cricketer of his standing to be able to use wherever we think he fits in for that particular game and conditions," he said.
Pothas said that the Indian tour is a learning curve for them as he feels the difference between the two teams is huge but added that Bangladesh should not be assessed on the performance of the ongoing tour.
"You guys generally go good, bad, win, lose. We have a very different way of looking at things. We played against the best team of the world India. If we measure pure outcome, there are a lot of countries with bad tours in India. What we have to look at are the learning, we have to look at the future of what we have coming up with Champions Trophy, T20s and we have to look at the end of some of the legends that are finishing for Bangladesh.
"We look at the tour in a very different way. We always enter the game to win, we have to do that cause that's the nature of the sport in international level. We are very fortunate to be touring India because we can get a lot of learning done. The learning has to be honest and what learning does when you play here is it drives you on," he said.
"India lets you know where you have to be improve. So you have to be very eyes open when you come to India," he said.
Elaborating on the lessons, he added: "So the learning is how to absorb pressure for long periods of time, how do you read the game better under pressure but most importantly how you prepare. That has to evolve that has to change all the time but as I said it is a privilege always to play against India," he said.
"When it comes to performance, I think we have very short memories. We've just come from Pakistan where we have won a series in Pakistan which we have never done before," he said.