Hyderabad: Disappointed for not being able to save the one-off Test against India at Hyderabad, Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim said on Monday that his team could have done it if it had even one batsman of Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s calibre.
Mushfiqur was asked if he agreed with Kohli’s notion that “basic batting technique” would have saved the visitors from a defeat and he sarcastically replied: “If you had basic technique like Virat Kohli (has), then you would have scored at an average of 50 plus in Test matches. Then you won’t be needing even seven batsmen on the final day to save a match. Four would have been enough for a draw.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a Virat Kohli in our team, “the visiting captain said. Asked about reports that he would be stripped off captaincy, Mushfiqur made it clear that he would neither quit captaincy nor wicket-keeping as he has a batting average of 34. “My average is not more than 34 or 33. So, how can I be No. 1 batsman of Bangladesh. If you are entrusted with 2 or 3 roles, that means management has shown faith in you.
So I need to deliver in all three departments really well. If I am not doing well, that’s up to the Board to take a call on my future,” he said. “At the moment, I am enjoying what I am doing as I love to spend time in the middle. The way you can do your job is to spend time in the middle rather than dressing room. There are people, who are sitting outside (BCB officials), they can take a decision but as far as I am concerned, I am happy to do all three,” Mushfiqur said, making it clear that he won’t give upon his triple role.
Talking about his century in the match, the Bangladesh skipper said: “As a Test batsman, it’s necessary to know where your off stump is and also have the ability to leave the deliveries and have a strong defence. I stress on those two aspects.”
Asked about the apparent cavalier approach of senior players like Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur sidestepped the issue. “Tamim and Shakib are different players. They must have devised their own way of batting and they would want to continue like that,” he said.
PTI