We needed a Virat Kohli to save the Test match: Mushfiqur Rahim

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim expressed his disappointment after not being able to save the one-off Test against India at the Rajiv Gandhi Internatonal Stadium in Hyderbad and said that his team needed a batsman of the calibre of Virat Kohli to save the Test match. Bangladesh folded out for 250 in their 2nd essay despite the pitch being battimg friendly even on the 5th day.

When asked if he agreed with Kohli’s thoughts that “basic bating technique” would have helped them save the Test match, Mushfiqur replied, “If you had basic technique like Virat Kohli (has), then you would have scored at an average of 50 plus in Test matches. Then you won’t be needing even seven batsmen on the final day to save a match. Four would have been enough for a draw. Unfortunately, we don’t have a Virat Kohli in our team,” the Bangladesh captain said.

Mushfiqur said that he was neither going to quit captaincy nor his wicket-keeping. He added that with a Test averae of 34 he cannot be the No.1 batsman in the team. He further added that it was now upto the selectors to decide his fate as an international player.

“My average is not more than 34 or 33. So, how can I be No. 1 batsman of Bangladesh. If you are entrusted with 2 or 3 roles, that means management has shown faith in you. So I need to deliver in all three departments really well. If I am not doing well, that’s upto the board to take a call on my future,” he said.

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“At the moment, I am enjoying what I am doing as I love to spend time in the middle. The way you can do your job is to spend time in the middle rather than dressing room. There are people, who are sitting outside (BCB officials), they can take a decision but as far as I am concerned, I am happy to do all three,” Mushfiqur was quoted as saying by Deccan Chronicle.

Speaking about his brilliant century in the 1st innings he said, “As a Test batsman, it’s necessary to know where your off stump is and also have the ability to leave the deliveries and have a strong defence. I stress on those two aspects.” He also added that Shakib and Tamim are two different players and andd they wants to stick to their ways of batting. “Tamim and Shakib are different players. They must have devised their own way of batting and they would want to continue like that,” he said.

The little man also defended his decision of giving more overs to Taijul Islam and Mehedi Hasan than Shakib. “We had three frontline spinners and we needed people who could be economical and also get some purchase from the track. I felt Miraz and Taijul did a good job. Shakib is there (but that) does not mean that I would underbowl a rookie (Miraz). In those two days, I felt Miraz and Taijul were doing a better job,” he added.

He said that it wasn’t practically possible to defend and save the Test match. “You can’t just defend and save a Test match. Look at Shakib, he did not try to attack today but got out. I did not hit any ball like that in the first innings and even then I got out. There is no guarantee that you can save matches by defending. The bowlers, if they see you dead batting everything, would be more confident if they know that you are not going to go after them,” he added.

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Going into the future Mushfiqur feels pushing India into the final day of the Test will give them confidence in future. “It’s also a rarity that we stretched the game into Day 5 trying to save the match. We have had matches where we have lost in three and a half or four days. It was a learning curve for me as well. Feeling bad but got self belief,” he signed off.