Afif tipped to bat at 4 in Asia cup
Afif Hossain is set to be rewarded for his recent good performances as the left-hander will be promoted to number 4 in the batting order in the forthcoming Asia Cup, hinted the national team’s director Khaled Mahmud.
Afif has showed glimpses of his potential in the international arena. But having to bat lower down the order to accommodate the experienced players in the middle-order has hindered his growth as a player and limited what he can do for the team.
But Afif is set to get a proper run at number 4, starting from the Asia Cup, hinted Khaled Mahmud on Monday after an event observing the national mourning day.
“We will give him a chance there,” Mahmud said when asked whether Afif will get to bat at number 4 in the Asia Cup.
“We are thinking about giving Afif a specific role. He is a dynamite. I think he is a very confident young boy. He batted wonderfully in the last two series, played well in the ODIs too. We will give Afif the opportunity because he is our future,” he added.
Mahmud further said that Afif has the aggressive mindset required to succeed in T20s, “The most important thing is that he is aggressive. That’s exactly what we want to see in the team. He is becoming a very important cricketer for Bangladesh. We will definitely give him the opportunity. That’s our responsibility.”
Afif was Bangladesh’s most consistent batter in the recently concluded Zimbabwe tour, where the Tigers lost the T20I and the ODI series by the same margin, 1-2.
Afif made an unbeaten 30 in Bangladesh’s only win in the three-match T20I series. He also hit an unbeaten 85 in Bangladesh’s lone victory in the 50-over series.
ODI skipper Tamim iqbal also heaped praises on Afif after the third ODI, “I’ve noticed some very special qualities in Afif that very few cricketers possess. If you notice, when Afif came to bat in the second match, we were under pressure. He, very quickly, relieved the pressure. On some days, he would get out attempting to do the same thing. Then you and everyone else will ask, why did he do that? But he has a unique quality, which I don’t want him to lose. I want him to continue playing the same way.”