Mehidy credits team’s faith for success as opener

Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz revealed that the trust placed upon him for the opening role helped him to gain self-belief to pen the innings effectively.

The right-handed batsman, on Wednesday, scored his career best of 46 runs off 37 deliveries in the second Twenty20 International against UAE, where he hit five boundaries.

Bangladesh won the match by 32-runs, and Mehidy was adjudged player of the match for his runs at the top of the order.

“The biggest thing for me was that everyone trusted me with the role. When I had everyone’s trust, it made me trust myself,” Mehidy said.

Bangladesh’s sustained top-order woes in T20Is forced the team management to look in a different direction. In an out-of-the-box decision, Mehidy, who was roped in after Yasir Ali Chowdhury got injured ahead of the West Indies series in July, was picked to open Bangladesh’s second match of the Asia Cup against Sri Lanka earlier this month.

Making his T20I comeback after almost four years, the 24-year-old impressed with his intent and innovation as he scored 38 runs off 26 deliveries to give the Tigers a precious start.

With the World Cup looming large, Mehidy is in pole position to open the innings in Australia.

Bangladesh’s batting coach Jamie Siddons praised the all-rounder’s improvements with the bat.

“Miraz is just coming up leaps and bounds. His confidence is up. I’ve seen him bat really well in One Day and Test cricket. Now he’s been given the license to play more shots at the top of the order and he’s doing a great job,” he said.