‘It takes two games to go from 360 to 0 degrees’
Despite being absent for the post-match press conferences after three straight wins, Khulna Tigers skipper Mushfiqur Rahim was keen to face the media after his team suffered their first defeat in the BBPL against Sylhet Thunder. The wicketkeeper-batsman also spoke about not being picked by any team in the India Premier League players’ draft along with a few other topics, including the role of the media towards promising players in the BBPL so far. Excerpts of that post-match press conference at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday are below:
Q: What went wrong? Your team was flying high after the straight three wins.
Mushfiqur Rahim [MR]: Every team wants to maintain momentum but it’s not easy to win every game in the T20 format. Still, I would have wanted us to put up a better fight after the way we played the first three games. 232 is always a tough ask to chase and it was always going to be difficult after we were unable to do well in the Powerplay. Hopefully we will return to winning ways the next game.
Q: Your coach James Foster termed you a 360-degree batsman after your 96-run knock against Chattogram Challengers. What’s your take on that?
MR: It doesn’t take two games to go from 360 to zero degrees. I really don’t believe in such things and I don’t think that I am that great a player. I think if you can bat freely it’s easy to play strokes all across the ground. You can take risks on such wickets and I think the curator should get the credit for that as well.
Q: How disappointing it was for you to not be picked in the IPL draft?
MR: To be honest I didn’t send my name initially because I knew they wouldn’t pick me so I thought there was no point sending my name. But when they requested me to send my name, I thought there was a chance but it didn’t happen. It’s not in my hands. It is not a big thing for me because there is nothing greater than the pride of playing for Bangladesh and I never take this as a headache. There was hope but life moves on and as the BPL is ongoing, I would like to focus on that.
Q: Quite a few youngsters have caught the eyes in the BBPL so far. Is that a good sign for Bangladesh?
MR: Pitches always play a big role in T20s and for bowlers I would like to say that only a few matches have taken place so far, so they deserve more chances. Don’t rate them so highly now and allow them to play freely as they are young, that’s my request. Don’t give them the extra pressure by saying there is World Cup coming and they can get a chance in the national team. Let them enjoy the game and let them think as a team member rather than an individual so that they can come to the national team as the full package.
It’s not bad to come into the limelight because it helps them become responsible. On the other hand, if you talk about Mustafizur Rahman, he is not in his best form but if I was his captain, I would still give him the ball if we needed to defend four runs from the final over. Everyone is saying Mustafizur is gone, which is not right. Obviously, it’s a good sign that the young bowlers are coming through and it will help us prepare backup options if someone gets injured. I think we should give some time to the youngsters and show proper respect to the more experienced players as well.
Comments