'Performing is the only way back'

Whether Mominul Haque is going to feature in international cricket this year remains a question. He was excluded from Bangladesh's last Test against Sri Lanka, a game which the Tigers went on to win.

And now, it is quite likely that he might have to fight for a place in a format in which he averages the highest in Bangladesh. That is a state that can de-motivate any player in the world. But Mominul's  brilliant 152 off 120 balls -- the third highest List A score by a Bangladeshi -- which included 16 fours and six sixes, is perhaps a sign that he is not going to fall for that trap.

“I just don't think about all that. Yes, I got dropped from the Test team, but that does not mean I am going to die. Even if I don't play Test cricket again, will I not live? So there's no point being worried. I have to perform. That's the only way I can get back,” a typically calm Mominul told The Daily Star yesterday after scoring his highest ever one-day score.

“I think the wicket was really good and the ground (BKSP) was small as well. So, it was easier to score runs. When I came in to bat, we had lost two wickets. So Nasir [Hossain] bhai and I thought of staying at the wicket for as long as possible.

“I did not really think that I was going to make a 150-plus score. To me the innings began just like any other knock, but I continued to make it big and that felt really good,” he added.

He has played longer knocks in first-class cricket and even in Test cricket. However, he has almost perennially been criticised for his game in the shorter version despite having a decent average at one of Bangladesh's most vulnerable batting positions -- number three.

And that was the reason why he described this knock as something special. “I think I enjoyed this innings because I managed to stay at the wicket for so long. To do this in one-day cricket was fun,” said the left-hander.