Mehidy Hasan Miraj Transforms From Bowler to All-Rounder

Bangladesh beating India always calls for special performances. Mashrafe produced one in 2007, Mustafizur produced a pair of beautiful spells to seal the series in 2015 and now Mehidy Hasan stands up with the bat to give Bangladesh their second series win in India. His pair of performances and the mindset at which he played helped Miraj set into the role of Bangladesh’s crisis man.

In both games, Mehidy Hasan Miraj presented himself as a composed batter helping get Bangladesh a series win with a game to spare. The knocks proved his ability as a player who could finish an innings, not through just big-hitting but understanding the situation. When he joined Mahmudullah, Bangladesh’s crisis man for the last decade, Mehidy Hasan took his time. He understood the situation and countered beautifully as the innings progressed.

His work with the bat has consistently grown. In the New Zealand Test earlier this year he provided some handy runs lower down the order, which proved handy as Bangladesh won a historic Test in New Zealand. Against Afghanistan, Mehidy Hasan again held on and bought his team back with the bat. He proved his bowling heroics in the home season last year and later against South Africa as well, earlier this year.

Against India, Mehidy Hasan Miraj produced a tight spell with the ball in the first innings. With the bat though, he was full of composure. With 51 needed for the last wicket, the heat was on. Miraj though picked his bowlers well and added another chapter to the lesson books about how to win a game with just one wicket in hand.

In the second game, Mehidy Hasan Miraj finished with a maiden ODI Century he once thought was beyond him. He walked in at 69-6 with Bangladesh in a huge crisis. Batting with Mahamudullah, Miraj launched a counter-attack and took Bangladesh to 271-7. The score proved to be enough as Bangladesh won by five runs.

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Out in the middle, Miraj bought a lot of belief to his process. He spoke about being trusted and backed well by the Bangladesh unit which has helped him dearly. The results though are expected. Prior to the T20 World Cup, Mehidy Hasan did get a chance as an opener. He opened the batting and had some time to face the new-ball. He did not get to continue in the role, but his time out in the middle helped him grow in confidence.

Starting as an out and out spinner, Mehidy Hasan has come a long way. He ran through the English unit early in his career in Test Cricket and has also displayed incredible maturity in Under-19 competitions. Now, after gaining some experience, Mehidy Hasan Miraj is transforming into a proper all-rounder.