I Was A Test Specialist When I Started, Never Thought I Could Reach No. 2 In ODI Rankings - Mehidy Hasan

Mehidy Hasan, the Bangladesh off-spinner, has had a meteoric rise in international cricket. At the age of just 23, he has picked over 100 Test wickets, and now has broken into the top of the ICC ODI bowler rankings, too.

He entered into the top ten in January this year. Now, following his figures of 4/30 and 3/28 in the first two matches of the ongoing ODI series versus Sri Lanka, Mehidy Hasan has climbed to the second position, 12 rating points behind Trent Boult.

He is only the third Bangladeshi to break into the top-two of the ODI bowler rankings after Shakib Al Hasan (No. 1 rank) and Abdur Razzak (No. 2) in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

“I never thought I could reach No. 2 in the ODI rankings, so I am feeling great. I want to thank my team-mates and team management, who supported me a lot. Everyone in the team is happy for me, which is really pleasing for me,” Mehidy Hasan was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

“I was a Test specialist when I started but I always wanted to play all the formats successfully. I wanted to contribute to the team when I started playing ODIs. I focused on the economy rate, because that would keep me in the team and allow me to get breakthroughs. I understand that batsmen are in a rush to score runs in ODIs. I was more focused on the small things, what improvement will help the team, help me be in the team,” he added.

2019 World Cup gave me a lot of confidence: Mehidy Hasan

Mehidy Hasan says that his performance in the 2019 World Cup gave him immense confidence. He returned as Bangladesh’s most economical bowler in the tournament conceding at 5.08 with 6 wickets in 7 games in conditions not assisting off-spinners.

“I became an ODI regular from the 2018 away series in West Indies. The 2019 World Cup gave me a lot of confidence, particularly in a country where there wasn’t any spin tracks. I planned so that the batsmen couldn’t dominate me, even if I didn’t take wickets. Small things make all the difference. It worked in a few matches – against South Africa, New Zealand and England,” the right-hander asserted.

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