Mominul breaks second curse

It had been 26 innings. For the batter who once scored a fifty in 11 consecutive Tests and has the most centuries for Bangladesh, the number is not just significant.

During this streak of almost 26 months, Mominul Haque lost his Test captaincy and also his place in Test XI. The selection calls, juxtaposed with his inconsistency and Chandika Hathurusinghe’s appointment, with whom he reportedly had a troubling relationship during the Sri Lankan’s first tenure, saw many call the day on his career.

However, the batter from Cox’s Bazar made his comeback against India at the end of last year and hit an invaluable 84, cementing his place in the team. After a Test in between, Mominul finally managed to end his 26-innings streak as he claimed his 12th Test ton, two more than any other Bangladesh batter.

It was not the first time, though. Between 2014 and 2018, he had gone through a 23-innings century drought. Although this one was shorter in timespan, for Mominul, this was the harder one.

Whether there is a direct connection between him not being captain anymore and finding runs against the red cherry is debatable but for the left-handed batter, the pressure is surely lesser.

“The advantage of not being captain is that you don’t have to think about much. You can just focus on your batting,” he said after the third day of Bangladesh’s one-off Test against Afghanistan in Dhaka.

In between his 13 Tests of no triple figure scores, more than two years have passed, and that begets the question of whether the irregularity of Test matches impacts the performance. The batter was extremely straightforward with his answer.

“When a player is out of form, you do not consider that (long breaks). If a player plays a Test after four months, you judge them but do not give them that required opportunity,” he said.

His statement seems even more realistic when a look at the Test calendar reveals that Bangladesh’s next Test will be against New Zealand at the end of this year.

“If ICC (International Cricket Council) gives you five Tests a year, you can’t do anything. If ICC gives 10 Tests, then it’s okay. You have to set yourself up for that. When you play five Tests a year, then the gap is created, of five months, four months, three months,” he said.

The left-handed batter added on the schedule with big breaks, “I don’t have any option. I have to make this a habit (playing after long breaks). Whenever I play, you will look at my performance. You will not look at whether I am playing after five months

or a year.”

The task is trickier for Mominul because he only plays Test cricket for Bangladesh and thus has to adapt accordingly, which he accepted was his only way out of the situation.

“When you get a long time, you can visualise and prepare yourself. This works for me. This doesn’t mean that you will be successful by just doing that but the chances are higher. Then, you will not feel you are playing after a long time, that will not cross your mind. For me, this is it. But this maybe won’t work for Zakir (Hasan) or (Mahmudul Hasan) Joy,” the

batter said.

After being dropped for two matches, Mominul came back and finally managed to break his curse. For the second time in his career. The goal would be that another would not come again.