Never thought I could reach no. 2 in ODI bowlers rankings, says Bangladesh's Mehidy Hasan

Hasan climbed up in the ODI rankings with good performances under his belt.

Bangladesh spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz recently climbed up to the second spot in the latest ICC ODI bowling rankings. Mehidy Hasan was surprised by his feat, as he became only the third bowler from his country to be ranked among the top two in ICC rankings.

Before Mehidy, Shakib Hasan was ranked no.1 in rankings in 2009 and Abdur Razzak was ranked no.2 in ODI bowlers rankings as well.

Mehidy advanced three places to reach the second position after returning figures of four for 30 and three for 28 bowling with the new ball, as per the latest weekly update issued by ICC.

“I never thought I could reach No. 2 in the ODI rankings, so I am feeling great. I want to thank my team-mates and team management, who supported me a lot. Everyone in the team is happy for me, which is really pleasing for me,” Hasan told ESPNCricinfo.

The 23-year-old then talked about how he started as a Test bowler and how he changed his game after he started playing ODIs.

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“I was a Test specialist when I started but I always wanted to play all the formats successfully. I wanted to contribute to the team when I started playing ODIs. I focused on the economy rate, because that would keep me in the team and allow me to get breakthroughs,” Hasan said.

“I became an ODI regular from the 2018 away series in West Indies. The 2019 World Cup gave me a lot of confidence, particularly in a country where there was not any spin tracks. I planned so that the batsmen could not dominate me, even if I didn't take wickets. Small things make all the difference. It worked in a few matches - against South Africa, New Zealand and England,” he added.

Bangladesh have already won the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka as the hosts have already got the series winning lead 2-0 over the visitors.

(With ANI inputs)