Don't think any player has been shuffled as much as me: Mehidy Hasan Miraz

Bangladesh will play their fifth Champions Trophy, with upcoming edition starting from February 19 in Pakistan. They will commence their campaign against India on February 20 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The team has been underwhelming at the ICC events historically, having made it to the knockouts of ICC events just two times so far. 

The country’s cricket is marred with slew of changes in the board and withing the team. There have been allegations of players not getting a long rope and some like Mehidy Hasan Miraz have been vocal about not getting a desired batting position. The bowling all-rounder, ahead of the impending tournament, opened up and said that the constant chopping and changing has affected his game. 

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“Look, I don't think there has been a single player like me who has been shuffled this much in the Bangladesh team. The amount of experiments done on me... I don't think there are a lot of players who have faced that. Don't you think I should settle in a specific position? Then I can perform well, and the team will be benefited," Mehidy told Cricbuzz.

"In the West Indies tour, you'll see, we probably didn't win the series, but we put up a fighting score on the board. We scored 300+, 290. It was beneficial for me and the team also. That's a different issue that we couldn't win,” he added.

When asked whether he considers himself unlucky owing to the lack of stability and not having a fixed position, Mehidy stated that the situation has less to do with luck as it is more about the calls taken by the team management.

"Not about luck, it's more about a decision by the management. But yeah, I am at fault too because I never said 'no' for the sake of the team. I guess it will not be good for me or for the team if further experiments are done," he said.

'Expectations will be higher from me' - Mehidy on replacing Shakib

Mehidy also opened up on the pressure of replacing veteran Shakib Al Hasan, who has not been picked in the Bangladesh squad.

"I played when Shakib bhai was here. The responsibility will be more on me, and the expectations will be higher in both batting and bowling. The team wants that from me. Honestly, I try to support both aspects as the team needs. Maybe sometimes, for some reasons, the outcome isn't the same, but sometimes it works too. It's important that every player takes responsibility. My role is very important. I will try to give my 100%," he said.

"At the same time, maybe the pressure wasn't there on me like this when Shakib bhai was here. Maybe that's why I did well. Now, I may get booed more since the expectations are higher on me, and I can't fulfil that. And I will definitely feel good if I can perform. I will try to do well for the country. Expectations aren't built in a day. Maybe I built that to people by performing. There is no way to go back. I hope I can give my 100%," he added.

Bangladesh squad for Champions Trophy 2025

Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmud Ullah, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana