I always want to bat in the top-order: Miraz

Mehedi Hasan Miraz was one of the top performers for Bangladesh last year, especially in terms of coming through for the Tigers with the bat alongside doing his usual bit as an ever-reliable off-spinner.

With the ninth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League starting later this week, the all-rounder would want to keep that up in 2023 as well as he eyes to build on his batting pedigree for his side Fortune Barishal.

Barishal have an enviable pool of players at their disposal this time around, with a number of national stars including captain Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyad, Ebadot Hossain, Khaled Ahmed and Miraz to ply their trades for last season's finalists.

Miraz, who, despite being more than handy in wielding a willow, often had to bat down the order in the national side to accommodate the experienced players up the order. Miraz, however, made statements whenever opportunities arrived – his match-winning 83-ball 100-run blitz against India earlier last month saw Bangladesh come back from a precarious position to win the second ODI and clinch the series with a game in hand.  

Earlier in February, with the Tigers six down for 45 while chasing a 215-run target, Miraz and Afif Hossain stitched an unbeaten 174-run stand for the seventh wicket to not only help Bangladesh avert humiliation but also take lead in that three-match ODI series. Miraz was awarded the player of the match for his unbeaten 81.    

With an aim to carry his form with the bat into this year, Miraz was blatant in mentioning his eagerness to bat up the order in BPL.

"Actually, it will depend on the team management's decision. There's still a lot of time before the tournament. But as I have said, I always want to bat in the top-order. The rest is up to the team management," Miraz said when asked if him partnering Shakib for the opening position was on the cards.

Miraz, however, would definitely like to avoid any kerfuffle with the brass over his batting position -- something that almost saw him leave the Chattogram Challengers franchise in the previous edition of the tournament. 

After failing to clear the final hurdle in 2016 with Rajshahi Kings and in 2020 with Khulna Tigers, Miraz also seemed hopeful to finally lift the trophy this time around.

"We have a very good team. There is Shakib bhai, who played for this franchise last year as well. Then we also have Riyad bhai, I, Ebadot, Khaled, so we almost have a number of players from the national squad. Definitely, we hope to become champions.

"This is maybe my sixth tournament; I played in the final of the BPL twice but could never become a champion. But, hopefully this time we will be champions," a confident Miraz said, adding that the bonding with his national teammates is sure to help their cause in the franchise tournament as well.

The all-rounder also hoped that the BPL will go a long way in helping the national players prepare for the ODI World Cup, slated for later this year.

"We have a very big event in 2023 as we have the 50-over World Cup this year. So, we will plan everything keeping that in mind. I, too, will prepare myself mentally in that manner and also focus on improving myself further," Miraz added.