Bangla’s young Mahadi Hasan wants to fox Kohli
LUCKNOW : A Twenty20 match against Sri Lanka last year was young Bangladesh all-rounder Mahadi Hasan’s first international match.
He could score just 11 with the help of one four and later conceded 25 runs off his 12 deliveries. Bangladesh went on to lose the game by 75 runs.
Despite the defeat, the experience of playing alongside top Bangladeshi cricketers Mustafizur Rahman, Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah almost changed his perception of the game, he says.
“That game at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium taught me many things. I am practising them. You feel excited as well as surprised when you find your dream players alongside you,” Hasan, 24, said on Friday after taking three wickets against hosts India Under-23 and scoring 20 runs.
“I always look up to my seniors. You can learn a lot from them. Bangladesh’s own Shakib Al Hasan, one of the top players in the world, is a big source of inspiration to me,” said Hasan, who has been a regular face in the Bangladesh Premier League.
He said former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar, who is manager of the under-23 side, was a great support to him.
“I keep talking to him and try to incorporate all those lessons in my game.”
It was under Bashar’s captaincy that Bangladesh challenged the established teams of the cricket world for a brief period.
Hasan said he wished to fox Team India skipper Virat Kohli with his off-breaks.
“Certainly, I would like to bowl Kohli out with my offbreaks as he (Kohli) has been a tough nut to crack for all the bowlers in the world. I also want to hit a six off Jasprit Bumrah,” he said, adding cricket had become a passion in Bangladesh.
“Cricket is the most supported sport in our country,” he said.
Hasan praised the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana International Cricket Stadium and also the standard of the game here. “Undoubtedly, cricket in India is at its best and I enjoy my cricket against the Indians. I have played some matches in Bengal against a few local teams in the past, but this was my first match in India against a good side.”
He said after losing the opening game of the five-match ODI series by 34 runs here on Friday, the Bangladesh side would stage a comeback in the other matches. “The series has just begun. We have the courage to stage a comeback so wait and watch!” Hasan signed off a with a confident smile.