Bangladesh’s technical consultant in T20I cricket, Sridharan Sriram, compared veteran batter Mahmudullah with the legendary Indian cricketer MS Dhoni while explaining why the all-rounder was dropped from the T20 World Cup 2022 squad.
On Wednesday, September 14, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022, where they recalled batsman Najmul Hossain while expectedly dropping Mahmudullah due to his poor performance in T20Is.
Notably, the former Bangladesh skipper had a really poor outing this year, scoring just 151 runs in eight T20Is.
Well, Sriram said that Mahmudullah is like a Dhoni for Bangladesh, but they have to take strong calls for the betterment of the team and had a conversation with the latter.
Read Also: T20 World Cup 2022: Bangladesh announces 15-member squad; Mahmudullah dropped
As reported by ESPNcricinfo, Sridharan Sriram stated: “It is never an easy conversation - he is the most-capped T20 player in Bangladesh. I have the utmost respect for him. I have to be the bad man to have the conversation. I think it (the conversation) went well.”
He further explained, “I think our cricket team needs to have a succession plan. I have always equated Mahmudullah with MS Dhoni with the role that he performs for the team. He batted at No. 6 just like Dhoni has done for India. He has finished off games. Dhoni cannot go on forever and ever, right?”
Sriram signed off by saying, “You need to have a succession plan for who (next). I think this was the right time to think of someone who can fill in Mahmudullah's big shoes. You need someone. Unless we start playing players in that role, we won't find them.”
Liton Das, Nurul Hasan, and Yasir Ali have recovered from injury. Bangladesh will be without the experienced Mushfiqur Rahim, who retired earlier this month.
Here’s Bangladesh Squad For T20 World Cup 2022:
Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Liton Das, Yasir Ali, Nurul Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Nasum Ahmed, Najmul Hossain
(With AFP inputs)
