Hathurusingha pleased with Bangladesh's finishers

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha lauded finishers Mahmudullah and Jaker Ali ahead of the series-deciding third T20I which will take place on Saturday at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS). 

None of Mahmudullah and Jaker was part of Bangladesh's T20I set-up last year but the duo could play a big part in their next World Cup campaign. 

Mahmudullah was dropped after the 2022 Asia Cup and missed the T20 World Cup in the same year in Australia owing to poor form. He was out of the ODI side for a while because of diminished returns with the bat and below-par fitness. 

The veteran batter returned to the ODI side before the World Cup and was by far Bangladesh's best player in the tournament with 328 runs at 54.7 and with a strike-rate of 91.6.

He was impressive in the recently-concluded Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), scoring 237 runs at an average of just under 30 and a strike-rate of 134.6.

Mahmudullah returned to the T20I side after 18 months on the back of a strong World Cup and a decent BPL. He smashed the first ball since his return for a maximum and scored a quick 54 off just 30 balls in the first ODI against Sri Lanka despite wickets falling at the other end. 

He showed agility in the field as well, throwing his body to stop runs at the boundary multiple times.

"He brings a lot of experience. He played the BPL with a lot of maturity," Hathurusingha told reporters on Friday. "He is playing with a lot of freedom which I said in a previous interview. When I saw him in the World Cup, he was so much at-ease with his game and himself. He is playing beautifully now."

Alongside the 38-year-old Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali was impressive in the first game that Bangladesh lost by a narrow margin of three runs. The 26-year-old Jaker, hailing from Sylhet, was not initially part of the squad but earned a call-up after Aliss Al Islam's injury. 

Jaker pumped six sixes in his brilliant 68 off 34 balls and created the record of most sixes by a Bangladeshi in a T20I innings. Hathurusingha said it was "pleasing" and "refreshing" to see him go all guns blazing.

"It is very refreshing to see what he can do. I only see him in this BPL. He is very calm which is really nice to see. It is one quality you need from someone who bats at No 5, 6 or 7. Most of the times you have to do certain things with limited time. It was really pleasing to see what he can do. It gave us a lot of confidence as a team," Hathurusingha stated.