In the 2023 ODI World Cup against Afghanistan at Dharamshala, Mehidy Hasan imparts adequate air on the ball to lure a desperate Hashmatullah Shahidi out of his crease. The slightly slower delivery dips on the Afghanistan captain, and the seam grips on the Dharamsala pitch. Shahidi, on 18 off 37, commits himself to the charge. He attempts a hit down the ground but it turns into a fatal hoick. Towhid Hridoy takes the catch at mid-on. Like he often does in home Tests, Mehidy Hasan set up the left-hander smartly with a series of dot balls.
It was just the breakthrough Bangladesh needed at that stage. And as Afghanistan fell from 112 for 2 to 158 all out, Mehidy Hasan helped himself to two more wickets. At this point, normally, a frontline spinner would take off his boots, pull up a chair, and wait for the batters to finish the simple chase. Mehidy Hasan went to bat at No. 3, instead.
Mehidy Hasan – An effective all rounder for Bangladesh after Shakib Al Hasan.
Bangladesh know that Shakib Al Hasan is their leading cricketer. He has been the top-ranked allrounder in one format or other for a stretch of time that goes as far back as 2009. He was among the wickets on Saturday too. His class endures but it looks like he’s finally got some competition.
Mehidy Hasan doesn’t think he is the next Shakib. That is actually the source of all his confidence. He doesn’t bring himself down by comparing himself to one of the game’s greats. He just does his thing. Since his international debut against England in 2016, whenever Mehidy Hasan has been asked to step up, he has stepped up. That confidence has now spread into his batting. The only thing is, nobody is sure where he will bat next.
Mehidy Hasan , who was Player of the Under-19 World Cup in 2016, struck his first fifty in a senior World Cup 2023 match and took his first Player-of-the-Match award in the tournament. He has produced some great performances since December 2022, not least those two great wins over India. Mehidy Hasan continued that run of form with the bat and never lost what he had with the ball. It seems as if the more responsibility he has on his shoulders, the better he plays.
Afghanistan, twice now, have borne the brunt of Mehidy Hasan’s great form. He struck a century, his first in ODIs, as an opener in the Asia Cup. At the World Cup, he hurt them a little with the ball and a little with the bat. Since then till ow the ongoing Sri Lanka ODI series Mehidy Hasan has been a vital cog in the Bangladesh squad and has now opened up on the policies of Bangladesh cricket ahead of the final ODI vs Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh sensational all rounder Mehidy Hasan downplays opener Litton Das removal from squad ahead of 3rd ODI
Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan reacted sportingly to the selection committee’s decision to axe Litton Das for the final game of the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. Last month, the new selection panel took charge for the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and this decision easily ranks amongst the boldest calls taken in the country’s recent past.
Litton endured a lukewarm 2023 in ODIs with just five fifties from 28 innings scoring 651 runs at an average of 26.04 and his two innings in 2024 have both been ducks. For the record, the 29-year-old’s last ODI hundred came back in February 2022. When asked about the opener’s axing for the final ODI, Mehidy Hasan was brutally honest in his assessment of the development. He stressed on the importance of consistency in performance and feels that the new selection committee may be ruthless in their evaluation of players’ performances.
He was dismissed without scoring in the first two one dayers against Sri Lanka following which he was axed from the side for the third and the final ODI of the series. In the press conference ahead of the third ODI which will be played on Monday at Chattogram, Mehidy Hasan did not see anything negative in the move to drop Litton Das .
“Litton da has played a lot of good innings. There are several memorable innings. I don’t think his being dropped is that much of an issue. I believe he can come back. He has that ability. We know what kind of player Litton is. He has been dropped, it’s nothing much. Maybe he is in a bit of off-form. I believe he will return to the Bangladesh team,” the all-rounder was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz
“You have to play in the national team by performing consistently. If I don’t play well, I will be dropped too. The national team is a place where you have to establish yourself through performances. Look Mushfiq bhai [Mushfiqur Rahman] is here and is providing Bangladesh team with consistent services for a long time. Everyone has their ups and downs,” Hasan went on to add.
The three match series now stands level 1-1 with Bangladesh winning the first match by six wickets, Sri Lanka bounced back to a three wicket triumph in the second match.
Mehidy Hasan is in all praise for the wickets made for the Sri Lanka series.
Both the games in the ODI series have been moderately high-scoring games with the team chasing getting across the line comfortably. The presence of heavy dew in the evenings has made the toss a crucial factor although the series decider will not have that problem with it being a day game.
Dwelling on the pitches in Chattogram, Mehidy Hasan felt that such true wickets would help Bangladesh to improve as a white-ball side across all departments. Chattogram has generally been known to produce run fests but the ongoing series has also seen some help in it for the bowlers, notably the pacers. Sharing his thoughts on the surfaces in use for the series Mehidy Hasan asserted :
“It’s a good thing that we are playing on good wickets. It’s an advantage for us. We always look for results whether we are winning or losing. When we go to big tournaments, we play on true wickets.
“On those wickets, there are challenges for pacers and spinners. Our habits get better (playing on such wickets).”
The 26-year-old Mehidy Hasan has played 96 ODIS for Bangladesh scoring 1306 runs and claiming 104 wickets with his off spin.