Feeling the heat, but up for the battle

Pakistan spin wizard Mushtaq Ahmed has been in charge of the Bangladesh spinners for the past two international assignments -- the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies followed by the two-match Test tour of Pakistan. His troops have delivered remarkable performances in both tours but the 54-year-old is yet to be offered a long-term contract. In an interview with The Daily Star's Samsul Arefin Khan yesterday, Mushtaq shared his take on Bangladesh's historic series win in Pakistan and his future with the Tigers. 

The Daily Star (DS): Your overall assessment of the Pakistan tour?

Mushtaq Ahmed (MA): The credit goes to the whole team. [Najmul Hossain] Shanto has been very good as captain. I think it was a mixture of everything. It was a great achievement. They were very dedicated, worked really hard, and were together. I believe they had no doubt amongst themselves. If you don't have the belief, you can't challenge any team. Skill comes last. Belief comes first.

DS: How do you evaluate Bangladesh spinners on a Rawalpindi wicket that is not known to provide assistance for them?

MA: It was outstanding. [Mehedi Hasan] Miraz was really good. The reason for that is he worked really hard, and Shakib [Al Hasan] got vital wickets in the first Test, especially in the second innings. One thing you should always remember is that if players put themselves under pressure in practice, Allah always gives them results. We also talked about angles, field positions, overspin, reading the pitch, and which area you need to bowl on; we communicated a lot during those Tests and even in training. The guys played with full passion and heart and the result speaks for itself.

DS: Do you see Miraz as a regular match-winner now?

MA: He is a match-winner because he can bat, he is a good fielder and a good bowler. He is a package, three in one. It's a great combination to have for any team. The good thing about him is that he is very coachable. He is a very good listener and is hungry to learn. He understands whatever we discuss at the nets. He uses angles, the crease, pace variations, and reads the batter. He can play all formats and will become a key player for Bangladesh cricket.

DS: What went wrong for Pakistan in this series?

MA: Before saying what went wrong with the Pakistan team, I must say that Bangladesh, our team, played good cricket. Lots of people think that they didn't play good cricket. Whenever we needed a partnership, Liton [Das] and Miraz stood up. That was a great partnership. When you needed somebody to bowl a very good spell, [Nahid] Rana got three to four quick wickets. So, those are the vital moments in which we played better than them.

All I can say is that Pakistan perhaps lacked confidence. They weren't sure of what they were doing. Planning wise, I could see they were playing aggressive cricket without understanding the condition and situation unlike our guys. Overall, it was about Bangladesh players who played better than Pakistan cricketers.

DS: You have been working with BCB on a short-term basis for the past few months. What's next? Do you want to sign a long-term contract?

MA: I am very hopeful. My manager and agent are talking to the cricket board. Hopefully, if things become better, it will be a great honour for me to be part of this team because this team can do wonders.
As things stand, I won't be there for the India series [later this month]. I have a few commitments in the next three-four months. There are a few family commitments as well. Maybe after December or January, I will try my best to serve Bangladesh cricket.

DS: Your take on the competition in the spin department?

MA: Taijul [Islam] is a match-winner. Nayeem [Hasan] is also a very talented off-spinner who can bat. Good kind of competition to have. They aren't ordinary spinners. They are all very coachable, and good learners.

We have to focus more on grassroots cricket. That's very important. We have to look to the grassroots level for leg-spinners and mystery spinners. If you go to Australia, South Africa or England for white-ball cricket, you will need mystery spinners. My idea which I will share with the cricket board and other stakeholders is that they should go and find mystery spinners and make them ready for the first-class cricket and the national team. I think it will take some time but it is a great opportunity.

DS: You have worked with Rishad Hossain during the T20 World Cup. Do you see him as a prospect for red-ball cricket or do you want him to focus on white-ball only?

MA: He can improve his legspin in red-ball cricket. For that, he has to play first-class cricket and four-day cricket. We don't have to rush him into Tests. If he plays a lot of four-day cricket, he will improve his white-ball cricket also because it will make him skilled by consolidating his basics.

Communication is a key aspect of my coaching philosophy and I've been in constant communication with Rishad. I have been watching his videos, and we are talking about his alignment and planning for the future as well. We just have to make sure he plays red-ball cricket as much as he can so he can become better in ODIs and T20s. If we need a leg-spinner to play Tests, he can be ready then. It might take some time but he is one of the cricketers who can play red-ball cricket.

Before taking the role of High Performance (HP) head coach in May 2023, former Bermuda batter David Hemp worked as the head coach of the Pakistan national women's team between 2020 and 2022. Earlier this year, the 53-year-old was officially assigned to the Bangladesh men's national cricket team as their batting coach. Since then, he has worked with the Tigers in several bilateral and global tournaments, including the recently concluded T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies. Bangladesh's next international engagement will be in Pakistan, where they will play two Tests, both part of the ICC Test Championship. Given Hemp's previous experience working in that part of the world, Bangladesh will have high expectations for his insights on the playing conditions there. On Monday, Hemp talked to The Daily Star's Samsul Arefin Khan over the phone from Australia on several aspects, including the team's preparation and chances for the series. The excerpts are as follows:

The Daily Star (DS): Bangladesh haven't played too many Tests in Pakistan over the years. How do you see the team's overall chances in this series?

David Hemp (DH): I think Pakistan are a strong side… and will be backing themselves to put up a good performance on home soil. It's not going to be an easy series in terms of conditions and surfaces. But traditionally, what we have seen over the last couple of years is that there have been good batting surfaces. It's conventional swing to start with and then reverse swing plays an important part in the game. But until we get there and see the conditions, because they might decide to leave grass on the wicket or it might be so much grass that the wicket might be suppressive [for batters], we aren't going to know about it.

DS: Pitches in Pakistan aren't like typical sub-continental ones, regularly assisting the pacers while some produce a lot of runs. What will be the biggest challenges for our batters in these types of surfaces?

DH: The key plan is managing conventional swing and then the reverse swing, and how we can assist the players to understand what they might come up against. If you look at the teams that had gone to Pakistan in the last couple of years, it's about occupying the crease for most of the time… so that you can bowl properly and set fields too. The matches had generally gone into the last day because they were very good for batting. For [taking] wickets, you have to work really hard but if you do get the ball swinging and reverse swinging, you have a really good chance to knock people over.

DS: Our HP team will be heading to Australia for two four-dayers while our A team will go to Pakistan prior to the Test series. Do you think our Test players should prepare with these matches too?

DH: I'm not sure what the selectors are going to do with the individuals… whether they can send them. As you have said, there are a couple of tours… so there's an opportunity to look at some players there, so that they can get used to the conditions.

DS: Bangladesh had a good start in this cycle of ICC Test Championship, beating New Zealand in their first game but derailed since. How do you see the team's position in terms of performance in this format?

DH: I think the win against New Zealand was very good. Apart from Glenn Phillips' innings in Dhaka, I believe we could have won that game as well. He played exceptionally well and was the difference between the two teams with the runs he scored in the second innings. Obviously, it was disappointing. We got ourselves into a winning position.

Regarding the Sri Lanka series in March, our focus was on batting for longer periods. Unfortunately, we couldn't achieve that. We failed to bat for over 50 overs in three innings. Our best batting performance was in the second Test, where we managed to bat for that extended period, forcing the opposition to change their approach during the innings. We need to ensure we occupy the crease for as long as possible. That means aiming to bat a minimum of 100 overs and assessing our position at that stage. It's a goal we should all strive for.

Another disappointing aspect of that series was missing a couple of opportunities against the Sri Lankan middle-order. If we had taken those chances, the result might have been different. From a batting perspective, you can't settle for batting just 50 overs in a Test match. We need to bat longer than that, and it's something we all need to focus on.

DS: Regarding our performance in the last T20 World Cup, how do you evaluate everything? People were disappointed after the team missed out on a golden opportunity of reaching the semis. Do you think if the team had shown more courage, they could've finished in the top four?

DH: I'm not sure if the word "courage" is right. We got ourselves into a position with an outside chance of getting to the semifinals. I think before the tournament, if anyone had said we would not only get into the Super Eight but also have an outside chance of reaching the semis, it would have been considered a pretty successful World Cup. I think people will understand the surfaces we played on. Throughout the World Cup in West Indies and the USA, some of the surfaces were challenging. Of course, it was disappointing not to get over the line against Afghanistan when we chased down the total. But it was a very tough challenge on a tricky surface. Ultimately, it was the most successful World Cup, perhaps the best World Cup Bangladesh has ever had. If you step back and say Bangladesh won three matches, lost one game by four runs, and another game by eight runs, then you see we were not far from winning five games of T20 cricket, which would have made for a very rewarding World Cup.

DS: But don't you think the batters should have batted better than what they showcased in the tournament?

DH: At the end of the day, we try to win games of cricket. You take the options that you feel are right at the particular time. What we found was that some of the best players in the world went into the World Cup and didn't perform at all. You have to understand where our batters were in that context and how challenging it was. It's not as simple as saying you can stand and hit through the line and hit balls over the top because some of the surfaces didn't allow us to do that. We are conducive to that type of play. The disappointment is that we know we have good players with high levels of skill, but they didn't show it consistently. That's the most disappointing thing, not the fact that people are looking to win the game. You also understand that T20 cricket is all about managing pressure, and one bad over can cost you the game. So, if you lose two wickets in the space of two overs, the game quickly changes or flips. We bear that in mind. But in terms of the outcome, getting to the Super Eight was the first goal that we achieved, and we weren't very far from getting into the semifinals.

DS: Bangladesh's Test side are quite different from the white-ball teams, although there are some players like Shanto and Liton who play in all three formats. How do you see their preparation for the series?

DH: In terms of preparation, we have some Test players who are in the white-ball squad. But those who aren't in the squad are preparing among themselves. With a couple of practice matches coming up, I think it will give them enough opportunities to prepare for the Test matches.

DS: Can you say something more specific about Shanto and Liton's form? One is the captain, and the other one is also a regular member of the squad.

DH: Obviously, they are having a bit of a break now. They will be participating in those practice games, so they will get the opportunity to get themselves mentally right for the longer version. That's the adjustment you have to make. It's about occupying the crease, making good decisions, and playing and leaving the ball, as there will be no scoreboard pressure. It's all about occupying the crease as long as they can.

Bangladesh speedster Taskin Ahmed made an instant impact on his return to Test cricket after 14 months as he came up with a sensational bowling performance on the second day of the second Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi yesterday. 

Taskin finished with 3-57, helping his side bowl out the hosts for 274 runs in their first innings within a day after the game finally started on the Day 2 after the opening day's play got washed out.

Taskin had taken a break from the longer-format earlier this year citing injury issues but after the end of the last ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA, he changed his mind and made himself available for selection for the Pakistan Test series.

The selection panel also showed faith on the experienced pacer as they picked him for the second Test squad but before that, they wanted to see how Taskin fared in the longer-version.

And for that, they played him in the second four-day match against Pakistan Shaheens where he bowled 15 overs and also dismissed Imam-ul-Haq in the first ball of his opening spell.

Similarly, the 29-year-old, who previously played 13 Tests since his debut in this format in 2017, tasted success almost immediately, going through the defences of Pakistani opener Abdullah Shafique with a splendid in-swinger in the last ball of the first over of the game after Bangladesh chose to field first.

Taskin, who came in as a replacement for the injured Shoriful Islam, set up Shafique brilliantly as he bowled his first five deliveries outside off, moving away from the batter, before finally pitching the ball on a good length and bringing it back sharply into the batter, hitting the top of off-stump.

"That wicket [Shafique's] was really enjoyable for me. First, I set him up with away moving ones and then in the last one I brought it back into him. That was intentional," Taskin told the reporters in the press meet after the end of the second day's play.

Taskin didn't get any more successes in his first spell where he bowled four overs but kept the pressure on Shan Masood and Saim Ayub, who went on to score fifties, and when he came back to bowl his next two spells, he carried on from where he had left off.

At one time, Saud Shakeel, the middle-order batter who scored a hundred in the opening Test, hit him for back-to-back boundaries. But Taskin had the last laugh, as he knocked over Shakeel's stumps in the same over to send him back to the pavilion.

Bangladesh kept taking wickets at regular intervals from the second session onwards. With Pakistan quickly running out of wickets, Salman Agha, the No.7 batter, decided to try and hit some boundaries against the second new ball and smashed Taskin for two sixes in consecutive overs.

Taskin, however, kept baiting Salman, who made 54, into going for big shots and eventually his plan worked as the batter mishit a pull shot and got caught at fine leg by Shakib Al Hasan and Mehedi Hasan Miraz soon wrapped up the innings by completing his 10th five-for in Tests.

"Overall, our bowling unit has done really well. We could have done better. I'm working on everything, as I have been playing for a long time, to adapt to the format quickly. It's my responsibility as an experienced and senior bowler.

"We have to bat really well. We have to comeback well in the second innings. Nothing is over yet but it was a good day for us which could have been even better."