Interview: Mehidy Hasan Miraz
'There is a lot more left for me to achieve'
Since 2021, Bangladesh cricket is seeing the magic of ‘all-rounder’ Mehidy Hasan Miraz. In 2022, he was a consistent performer for the Tigers. Throughout the year, he has achieved incredible feats. The latest example of it was the recently concluded India series. Miraz, who was brilliant in both the Test and ODI series against India, spoke to Prothom Alo on Monday about his change in mentality and future plans.
Q :
The India series is being called the ‘Miraz series’. How do you feel about that?
For me, this was a dream series. The ODI series will always be etched in my memory. The series against India seven years ago was Mustafiz’s series, this time I performed really well. Of course, it feels great. I never thought something like this could happen. You step on the field wanting to play for your team, and while trying to do that, sometimes unbelievable things happen. This is exactly what happened in my case.
Q :
Whenever people talk about Mustafiz, the 2015 series against India inevitably comes up. Will this series be something similar in your career?
I don’t know about that. After winning the first ODI, the team started believing that we can win the series. When you win a match like that, the entire vibe of the team changes. That first match changed the vibe of the team. We wanted to take the second match to a position from where we can pose a challenge to them. At the end, we managed to take the game deep and won.
Q :
Against India, Bangladesh have lost many close matches. This time, Bangladesh won two such close matches. This must’ve been a relief…
In every match, you have to create a situation from where you can end up on the winning side. From there, you could win or you could lose. But if you can regularly get into winning positions, then out of five matches you will win some and you will lose some. But all in all, your chances of winning will be more than 50 per cent. Against India, we get to such positions in almost every match. This shows that our cricket has improved a lot.
Q :
As a cricketer, how do you see your improvement in the past two years?
You can’t be successful in international cricket in 1-2 days. It takes a long time, to be ready mentally. I’ve been playing international cricket for six years. The difference between my mentality at the start of my career and now is staggering. At first, securing a place in the team was a huge deal. I had the advantage of being a regular member in the Test side from the start. I started playing in ODIs a bit later. This helped create a strong base. Had I been selected to play in all three formats from the start, I would’ve fallen under pressure. The more I played, the more I started understanding the game. I improved on the aspects that needed improving. Sohel sir (coach Sohel Islam) helped me a lot.
Q :
Everyone praises your fighting mentality…
Not just in international cricket, being mentally strong helps one to easily overcome the problems in other aspects of your life as well. This doesn’t happen overnight. After a while, it gets stored inside you like muscle memory. Naturally, our reaction to problems is negative, it’s hardly ever positive. But one has to manifest that positive thinking within oneself. You will have to think positive thoughts all the time. You have to talk to yourself. By reminding yourself repeatedly, after a while your muscle memory turns those negative thoughts into positive ones. Then, you start getting good results.
Q :
Did you think this way 2-3 years back?
No, that’s what I’m saying. It took time to create this thinking. The sub-continent culture is such that we get introduced to this type of thinking a lot later in our lives. We learn about this while playing international cricket. The thing I learnt after playing international cricket for five years, cricketers of other countries know long before they start playing international cricket.
Q :
During the India series, you spoke with Virat Kohli a few times. Not just Kohli, you are trying to keep contact with big cricketers from other teams as well. Why is that?
Firstly, you can learn a lot from big cricketers. The learnings are not always just about cricket, it could also be about life. How many years can you play cricket? 10-15 years. But life doesn’t stop after that. The ones who become big cricketers don’t reach that pedestal out of the blue. After talking with them you can learn a lot about life.
Q :
Cricket is not everything, when did this thought first come to your mind?
Even 3-4 years back, I used to be very emotional. I used to feel really excited when I played well and feel terrible when I didn’t. At one point I realised if I dive too deep into cricket, this fun game will turn into a burden. Yes, I love cricket. I am a professional cricketer. But cricket is not everything. Even if I don’t achieve anything great in cricket, I won’t lose everything. This thought has helped me feel free of burden.
Q :
So, your best cricket is a result of this mindset…
Exactly. If you think like this, you could also correctly evaluate your success. For example, I played well against India. If I start thinking that I have done something incredible, then I’ll be finished. It definitely feels good. But at the end of the day, this is my job. This is why I have been picked in the team. There is a lot left for me to achieve, this is just the beginning. The day I win a World Cup or an Asia Cup, that’s the day I will say I have given my all to Bangladesh cricket.
Q :
Right now, you are considered as a consistent performer, how does that feel?
My life has completely changed after the birth of my son. The feeling of fatherhood, that responsibility has changed me. The last three years have been a special period in my life. In 2020, my son was born, then I got my first Test century, claimed 100 Test wickets. This year also went well. But I’m always more scared of the good times. Because I know, at some point this will come to an end. During bad times, I stay more courageous. Because I know, this too shall pass.
Q :
This year, you were Bangladesh’s highest wicket-taker in three formats combined (59 wickets). You have also played some incredible knocks with the bat. How do you view your improvement in bowling and batting?
I have worked on my weaknesses to gradually improve. I will continue doing so in the future. I’m happy with how much I’ve improved as a batter. But I believe I can do even better. I could bat anywhere from No 4-6 in the batting line-up. I need to know which areas I need to improve upon to make that possible. I’m working accordingly.
Q :
What are your expectations in 2023?
Nothing much. I want to continue doing what I’m doing. As this is the year of the World Cup and we are going into the World Cup with a very experienced team, I hope to do well. The players who are likely to play at the World Cup, have already played in at least 1-2 World Cups. And the experienced players have played in 3-4 World Cups. Now, all of us have to come together and play as a team, that will be the real challenge.
*This interview appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ashfaq-Ul-Alam Niloy