Nobody believes in the process: Mominul

After being handed the Test captaincy mantle in 2019, Mominul Haque said in November that year that he was looking forward to restructuring the Test team during his tenure.

“If there is an opportunity for me to sit with the coach (Russell Domingo), it will provide a good structure to improve in Test cricket. Results will not come immediately; some time is needed. We have to approach with patience. It’s a positive aspect,” he had said.

And it seems like two years after, Mominul has lost faith in the process as he said after their defeat by an innings and eight runs to Pakistan that nobody believes in the process.

“I have been unable to reform the Test side. At the end of the day, everyone wants results. I don’t think anyone here believes in the process. Without results, it is very difficult,” he said in the post-match press conference on Wednesday.

Two years into his captaincy, Bangladesh have won only two out of 11 Tests, losing eight. The two wins? Both came against Zimbabwe.

Bangladesh have also failed to show any sign of progress in these two years. In the first cycle of the World Test Championship, Bangladesh got their only points from a draw against Sri Lanka and finished at the bottom.

This time around, Bangladesh had the chance to get their hands on the first points with a draw in a match that saw almost two days completely washed out.

But due to some reckless batting in the first innings and shambolic in both, Bangladesh managed to lose the second Test against Pakistan.

Mominul though is unwilling to accept that their batting was over-aggressive.

“I really don’t think we played aggressively in either innings. If you keep defending the ball, when will you score the runs? Those who got out were taking a calculated risk. You feel this way because they got out. You have to take runs when it is available. I think things would have been easy had our top four made runs. When you don’t score in the top order, life becomes difficult for the rest of the line-up,” Mominul said.

But the Bangladesh skipper wanted to react positively despite the result not being the same way.

“Captaincy is challenging, not tough. I am in this seat because I took on the challenge. Not many take up this challenge. I think it is a privilege. When the team goes through such a phase, it is important how you react (as a captain). I am taking this positively,” he said.

Bangladesh now travel to New Zealand, where they have never won a match in any format. And with their recent performances at home as examples, Mominul and his men have little to hope for a Test win in January.