Mehedi Hasan Miraz was hoisted in the air by teammates with none other than Shakib Al Hasan amongst those lending a shoulder, for he had done the seemingly impossible.

Miraz took along Mustafizur Rahman with him as the last batter to stage an immense fightback under dire circumstances and prevailing where others did not. But if anyone felt that there had not been any precedent set by Miraz for that immense knock, it had come during the days of his forays as a young star, who was ready to take it all and leave nothing behind until the last ball.

Miraz had been one of the youngest bowlers to bag 10 wickets in a Test, having achieved the feat just three days past his 19th birthday. This year, he and Afif Hossain put on a 174-run stand to bring Bangladesh back from the dead against Afghanistan after the Tigers slumped to 45 for six in chase of 216 in Chattogram.

Country's leading spin coach Sohel Islam has seen Miraz in his developmental years, having worked in both domestic and international assignments. The seminal change in Miraz's ability to thrive under pressure was apparent even during his younger days.

"A player's approach during his youth and the roles he played is very important to their development. I have seen Miraz in U-15, U-17, U-19 stages, and during his journey in those six years, he was captaining the side and used to play the lead role," said Sohel.

"His approach was such that he would always say 'hand me the ball sir and I will be able to do this'. I remember once that we were playing in Pietermaritzburg in serious cold conditions. It was probably two degrees but he was saying that the cold was nothing. Then he played a really good innings with the ball moving around and they had quite a few pacers playing. He has been leading teams and that develops character and when one comes to the national team there is reflection of that. That played a crucial role in his growth but more crucially that approach has remained," Sohel said of his student.

In South Africa this year, Miraz was hit for runs during the first ODI but yet he asked for the ball during a critical scenario from skipper Tamim Iqbal and picked up four wickets to play a match-winning hand. Despite his initial impact with the ball in the national team, there were always signs that Miraz was a proper all-rounder, according to his mentor.

"There is a gap in Bangladesh's domestic and international scene when it comes to batting so it takes time to cope but as time goes, his batting is growing in stature. He used to bat really well and is a proper all-rounder. When he played the World Cup in 2016, he was the highest run-getter. When you see Shakib you can't decide whether he creates more impact with bat or ball. Miraz is very close to that," Sohel said.

Watching Miraz's innings on Sunday was something special for his mentor. "I talked to him later and said that 'Miraz, I have seen many innings but it's not like I get very excited but this innings made me really excited.'"

"He always shows bravado, but the thing he said to the press that he believed, that was completely true," he concluded. 

From being captain in youth cricket to national team, Miraz has come up leaps and bounds and Tigers will like to believe this is just the beginning.