Ahead of his first assignment as Bangladesh Test captain against dangerous India, Mominul Haque has on Wednesday (November 6) revealed his mixed emotion when he was named the national captain.
Haque revealed he was completely stunned as the Test captaincy was completely unexpected and even though he was not ready for this huge responsibility, saying he never thought even in his dreams that he will lead Bangladesh, but now is excited to take on Virat Kohli and his team in 2-match Test series in India.
The 28-year-old, who has never led a top team in domestic cricket, was appointed the Test captain of the side after Shakib Al Hasan was banned for two years for not reporting corrupt approaches to ICC.
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Mominul told media on Wednesday, “I was not ready at all. It was completely unexpected. I never thought even in my dreams that I will be the captain of Bangladesh or I will captain the Test side. I am very excited as I think (Kohli) is the best player in the world, the best batsman in all formats combined. Thinking about that makes me feel good.”
With 2,613 runs at 41.47 – the highest average among Bangladesh batsmen in 36 Tests, the left-hander is one of most prolific batsmen in the current national set-up in Test cricket and the captaincy duty would certainly add more pressure but he insisted that would not affect his game.
The newly Test skipper explained, “I never considered captaincy as pressure or responsibility. If I keep thinking that as a captain, I have to take extra responsibility to carry the team forward then I will be in some pressure. But if I play my natural game, and think that I am a batsman who needs to score for his team, then it will not have any effect.”
The two-match Test series will get underway with the first Test on November 14 in Indore while the second and final match will mark the beginning of the day-night Test match in India – to be held at Eden Gardens, Kolkata from November 22 and Bangladesh star was ready for the challenge.
Mominul signed off by saying, “We have not played a Test under the floodlights and with the pink ball. It is a very good chance to play good cricket.”
(With AFP Inputs)
