Is Mahmudullah Riyad's batting suited to T20 cricket? The once-burning question has probably become a foolish one now. The elegant right-hander has so far scored 7, 36 not out, 23 and 22 in the ongoing Asia Cup T20; from a statistical viewpoint the numbers may not set the world alight, but the impact of his last three innings in Bangladesh's progress to the final of the regional event has been immense.

On February 22, two days before the start of the tournament proper, Riyad responded to a question about his batting plan with an impish smile, saying he will try to hit his first ball for six. “You can say it was a humorous answer because I sensed that there was some doubt over my T20 ability in that question,” said the soft-spoken cricketer while talking to this reporter yesterday.

General perception regarding the right-hander's silky-smooth batting was that it is nice to watch but can only be fruitful if the batsman gets some time, so questions were also raised about his batting position in the T20 line-up, but Riyad has proven everybody wrong. “I am not doing anything to prove anyone wrong; I am simply trying to give my best to fulfil my team's demand. I have been practising hard to switch my batting to this format and gradually getting the results,” said the humble Riyad.

Refreshingly, Riyad is not executing the big hits at the expense of the inherent elegance in his batting.

In this there is an echo in the methods of the batsmen marked by greatness present in the tournament. An image that will stick in the mind is that of Rohit Sharma leaning forward to caress a Mashrafe Bin Mortaza delivery all along the ground through cover, which briefly transported the spectator from the night of a T20 game to an afternoon session of a Test match.

Virat Kohli also showed that class and calibre matter, especially when conditions demand high skill from a batsman.

It is similarly hard to forget some of Riyad's shots such as when he cleared his front foot and flicked a near yorker-length delivery from Nuwan Kulasekara with great timing over square leg's head. And then there was that magnificent boundary against Mohammad Sami.

It was a no-ball but the way he split the gap between point and short third man under such pressure cannot take anything away from his mastery.

“The sense of application is very important. I think I could not do anything other than hit the ball that way. What I understand is that one needs to bat with a clear mind to be successful in this format. I think the last BPL (Bangladesh Premier League) helped me lot,” said Riyad. He also emphasised on playing to one's strengths. “It's very much possible to be successful in T20 cricket by playing proper cricketing shots. One may be strong at the scoop, one may be good at the reverse-sweep or other shots, but I believe one needs to play to his strength,” he added.

There were many who doubted for a while as Mahmudullah could not justify his calibre, but the right-hander finally showed his talent to the world during the last World Cup in Australia-New Zealand, where he not only hit Bangladesh's first World Cup century but also added another one to his name.

“It was a huge learning curve for me when I had been going through a rough patch and was under tremendous pressure. True hard work brings you success but you also need the mental toughness which I think is helping me a lot,” said Riyad.

It's said that a batsman starts delivering from the age of 25 after gaining all the experience, and the 30-year old Riyad may be at his prime time to justify his talent.“Yes, experience matters,” the man from Mymensingh said, hinting at more success in the coming days.