Australia is set to tour Bangladesh in September for the first time for a Test series since 2006.
But a lot has changed for Bangladesh cricket since then. Especially in the last one year, the Tigers have lifted their standard greatly, testified by their victories against England at home and Sri Lanka away.
While they are a far stronger unit in limited overs, they will look to replicate that success in the longest format as well.
Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim is confident that his side will put up a strong display against the Aussies in the upcoming series. In an exclusive interview with an Indian cricking website Cricbuzz, Rahim opens up about the team’s transition to the big league, his batting, wicket-keeping, captaincy and more.
Bangladesh is a much-improved side in ODIs, but this is not the case when it comes to Test cricket. There is no leg spinner or a genuine fast bowler. You are leading this side for the last six years. How challenging has this journey been?
MUSHFIQ: It’s difficult to perform consistently in Test cricket due to the lack of players as you mentioned. No matter how good you play, you got to have bowlers to get 20 wickets if you want to win a Test.
It is true against any opponent. Probably we are a bit behind in this aspect as we don’t have a genuine leg spinner or a pace spearhead. But at the same time, we have been able to produce some bowlers during the last two to three years like Mustafizur (Rahman) and Miraj (Mehedi).
If they can play (well) for another two to three years, hopefully it will help to us to become a better Test side. Unlike the other formats where by playing well for a couple of hours (you can win matches), in Test cricket you need to play well for five days, session by session, to earn victory.
Probably they will need a year or two to adapt to it and then we can turn out to be a good side.
You are considered to be one of Bangladesh’s batting pillars but as a captain whom do you look at when it comes to batting?
MUSHFIQ: I always look forward to my openers. Tamim (Iqbal), in one word, is incredible. The way he is batting for the last three to four years and the kind of consistency he has shown, it is not very common in world cricket. It is a kind of inspiration for us to have someone like him in the team. There is Shakib (Al Hasan) and Riad [Mahmudullah], while youngsters like Soumya (Sarkar) and Mossadek are not far behind.
There is Mominul (Haque), and to be honest we think our batting unit is better than some other Test playing nations. Whether in Test cricket or in other formats, our top seven is quite consistent. I think every player has developed a lot individually, and it helps the team in the long run.
The main challenge for us is that we play very little Test cricket, and when that happens, it becomes difficult. I am happy that Australia (are coming for the Test series) and we are prepared for that. Our preparation to face them has been very good.
All of you will be playing Test against Australia for the first time. What is your expectation?
MUSHFIQ: When England arrived, no one counted on us or believed that we can be competitive against them, let alone win. No matter how weak they are against spin, they have a good track record in the subcontinent. We could not have put up a fight against England for five days, earlier.
In the last two to three years, some talented players arrived in our team who inspire us to win against big teams. We have that self belief in us and now we have to play good cricket for five days. If we can use the home condition and play to our potential, I don’t think it is impossible to beat Australia.
To be honest, if we can play our best cricket, we can beat any team in the world because we have that ability. Earlier, we had to play well while others had to play badly if we wanted to achieve success but that is not the case now.
We have played few ODIs against Australia but no Test matches against them. This will be a big occasion. We have always heard that Australia play aggressive cricket. We are ready to play against them with an aggressive mindset.
What motivates you to work so hard?
MUSHFIQ: The biggest motivation is that you are representing your country. We have a population of 16 crore but we are one of the luckiest men to represent our country wearing the national jersey. I still feel that there are more talented cricketers than me in our country, but we need to play with whatever we have in our stock, and try to improve every day.
I am accountable to myself. I always try to work in a process and don’t think much about the result because it is not in my hand. There is no point getting excited after playing well because it is my job and I am picked for this purpose. I want to remain honest to myself, that’s it.
How do you take criticisms?
MUSHFIQ: There are both bad and good, and it won’t be satisfying to do well unless you have crossed the bad times. I try to take it with a positive frame of mind. We are professional cricketers and need to take everything in our stride.
I feel that when you love a cricketer, you tend to demand something from him. It is another thing that at times you forget to put up a boundary. At times, we fail to meet up that expectation, but we can assure you that we don’t fail to give our best effort.
What are your expectations as a Test nation?
MUSHFIQ: I think we did well in ODIs because we had a dream that motivated us to do well. I personally feel that we have got to work on various areas in Test cricket and there is no dearth of talent. We need to play well abroad and that is the biggest challenge. We need to translate our home performances when we go out.
We could not do very well in New Zealand as a unit though there were some brilliant individual performances. Now we need to make sure there is a more unified effort because at the end it is a team game, and you need to play for the cause of a team.
We are looking forward to the Australia series and the South Africa tour that will be followed after the home series. We can have a good look at ourselves after competing with two top-class Test nations.
Lot has been said regarding your keeping.
MUSHFIQ: I have said it repeatedly that my keeping helped me understands the wicket better, which helped me as a batsman. But at the same time I have to do what I am told to do for the team. I am happy, and I will try to contribute as much as possible in any role given to me by the team management.
