Bangladesh's Nurul Hasan Gets Behind "Fearless" Cricket As Captain

Nurul Hasan, Bangladesh’s newly appointed T20I captain, claims that he is “normal” and is not overjoyed about the opportunity to serve as the nation’s captain for the first time. He also doesn’t seem too upset by the job’s nature, which is at best considered to be a stop-gap solution given that Shakib al Hasan is the front-runner to captain the team from the Asia Cup to the T20 World Cup. 

Nurul has just developed the ability to avoid falling into emotional abysses, something he acknowledges taking several years to perfect. 

I Don’t Get Thrilled The Way I Used To Be: Nurul Hasan

Nurul spent three years in the wilderness before rejoining the national system last year, and now it seems that he can manage things without getting too engaged. It is obvious that the difficult lessons he learned from being reassigned without good cause in the past are in play. 

”I am not too much excited or I thrilled. Nowadays I don’t get thrilled the way I used to be,” Nurul tells Cricbuzz.  

”I was informed by the BCB earlier and at that point I was surprised. Later I just felt that it’s a responsibility and I need to fulfil that. There’s nothing more to it.  

”I was a very emotional guy earlier but I really worked hard in this area and I haven’t turned into who I am today all of a sudden. I worked on myself for two-three years because I felt I needed to improve in this area (controlling my emotions).”  

Leading Your Nation Not Much Different From Leading A Domestic Side: Nurul Hasan

Due to his success as a captain in the home T20 league, Nurul Hasan was given the leadership position. He’s not prepared to change anything about himself when he takes over as Bangladesh’s eighth T20I skipper since his new approach is getting him places. 

”I don’t think there is a big difference in the leading side as far as domestic and international teams are concerned. At both places, the major goal is to play like a unit and I am looking forward to making sure that we can play like a team,” said Nurul.  

”To be honest, I am not looking too far ahead (as far as captaincy is concerned) because for me what is important is my process and I want to do the hard work with honesty.  

“Because as a player, whether I am playing in domestic cricket or international matches, I want to make sure that I deliver what the team wants from me. I am not saying that I am delivering it all the time but I can assure you that I gave a hundred percent as far as trying is concerned.

As a captain, I have to think about the team and I want to do that properly and want to create an atmosphere so that we can play as a team. When one will be happy seeing others perform, I feel that is how team culture grows.

I think it is very important to develop this culture because then the result will ultimately come. I think skill-wise we are not very different from other teams but what I feel is that mentally, we have to match with others because that will be helpful for the whole team.  

We Should Play Fearless Cricket In T20I’s: Nurul Hasan

In light of the fact that he is prepared to play all-out cricket in the T20s—a must to succeed in the format—Nurul Hasan said that he will support his teammates’ efforts to play courageous cricket, even if they falter. 

‘‘Look, I accept that we are behind in Test and T20Is compared to ODIs but what I feel is that we should play fearless cricket in T20Is. If I tell you about myself, I can say that whenever I am having fear I am always on the back foot and so it is important we play fearless cricket.  

”Certainly I will back them so that they can play freely and without fearing of losing their place because they might fail if they opt to play an aggressive brand of cricket. Look, every individual is different and plays differently and they have something that comes naturally to them.  

”I am not thinking too much about the results; rather what I feel is that the process is very important. To be honest, what will happen or what kind of result we are going to achieve does not matter a lot to me because there is no point in losing your sleep thinking about the future,” Nurul added.  

Nurul Hasan Unlikely To Be Affected By Outside Noise

After being named the T20I captain, Nurul Hasan acknowledged that his performance would be scrutinised much more, but he added that he is unlikely to be affected by the outside noise. 

”Look, you have to understand where I bat (in T20s). At times, I score 15 to 20 runs and it looks very little but no one understands what kind of impact it is having on the team. In the next match if I don’t score runs it will be like ‘he is not scoring runs’.  

”If I think about all these things then it will be hard to come out of it and so what I feel is that I need to be totally away from listening to what everyone is saying.

And to be honest, I don’t follow it. I think inside the ground there is an analysis and all those things and I am seeing it and apart from that when I am away from cricket, I don’t follow much about cricket.

I want to be away from it (all the media hype and criticism) and away from the field. I am only focused on my plan and now about the team plan.  

”Look, there are wins and losses in cricket and every team wants to win but what I feel is that ultimately there is no point thinking too much about the result. We should instead be focused on maintaining the process and if we can give our hundred percent, the results will automatically come.”  

Nurul wants to avoid being under any strain, but with the environment, he is in, it won’t be so simple. In the cricket community, there might be a lot of uproars if you lose against Zimbabwe. The new captain does, however, appear to have a wise head on his youthful shoulders, which is a plus. That’s a solid foundation to build upon. 

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