A captain cannot lead a team without performing: Mehidy Hasan Miraz

Mehidy Hasan Miraz had a dream Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season, clinching the coveted Player of the Tournament award. In this interview, he discusses his standout performances, the heartbreak of missing the final, and his views on Bangladesh's T20 setup.

Tell us about your BPL experience. How was it?

The BPL went just as I had envisioned for myself. Alhamdulillah, it went really well. I always had a strong desire to become the Player of the Tournament at least once. In my seven-to-eight-year BPL career, I had never won this award before. Since it was a goal of mine, I worked towards it with that mindset.

I knew that to be the best in the tournament, I couldn't rely on just one aspect of my game—it would be difficult. If I focused only on one skill, I would need either 20-25 wickets or a lot of runs with the bat. My aim was to balance both: score around 350-400 runs and take around 15-20 wickets. That way, I could confidently secure the Player of the Tournament title. This wasn't the first time I thought this way, but this time it finally happened.

Khulna's playoff qualification was uncertain, so leading the team as captain was a great learning experience for me. I really enjoyed captaining the team in the BPL this time. I gained a lot of experience, and overall, I think this BPL was very good for me.

You had to play your last two group-stage matches as virtual knockout games. If you consider that, you won three consecutive knockout matches to stay in the race for the final. Then came that heartbreaking loss—how disappointing was it?

I believe our match (the second qualifier) was the most exciting game of this BPL—perhaps even more intense than the final itself. I think we deserved to play in the final because we were in a position to win that match. We had dismissed all of their main batters, but their bowlers ended up winning the game for them. No one expected that—not even me.

I was afraid of something like this happening because I have personally won games like this in the past by leading my team to victory from a losing position. That fear was in the back of my mind. But this was also a learning experience for me. I now understand where I could have done better. I have learned a lot from this BPL, and these lessons will help me in the future.

After the loss, you seemed to put the blame on Jason Holder for conceding 13 runs in the 18th over. In a run chase, that's quite normal. Wouldn't it be more disappointing that you couldn't defend 15 runs in the final over against two spinners?

Absolutely. We never thought we would lose that match. They needed 15 runs in the last over—just two good deliveries could have prevented that. But luck was also not on our side that day. One ball hit the edge and went for four, and then Aliss-Al Sunny played a crucial shot. It just happened.

If you play that situation multiple times, even if Mushfiq Hasan were bowling, he would have won that match 49 times out of 50. But this was that one rare match where things didn't go our way. I think that day just belonged to Chattogram Kings.

You proved yourself as the best among so many local and international players in the BPL. Winning the Player of the Tournament award for the first time must have been special. Would this trophy have been more valuable if your team had reached the final or won the title?

Yes, if we had played the final and won the championship, even if I hadn't been the Player of the Tournament, I would have been happier. Winning the championship would have meant more to me. Not playing the final was really disappointing. I was so upset that I couldn't even think about cricket for two days.

You scored 355 runs and took 13 wickets. While you excelled with the bat, you didn't take as many wickets as expected. Was it due to the pitches, or do you see any other reasons?

I took 13 wickets, but in four or five matches, I didn't get any wickets at all. If I had managed to take wickets in those games, my tally might have reached around 20.

I especially struggled to take wickets in Sylhet and Chattogram. In Sylhet, I barely got any. If I had taken six or seven more wickets, it would have been even better.

You captained the team and led with both bat and ball. How satisfied are you with your leadership performance?

It felt really good. As a captain, you have to manage players and monitor team performance. But at the end of the day, your own performance is crucial.

When a captain performs well, it builds confidence among the players. They start believing, "Our captain is leading by example, so we can do it too." But if the captain is not performing, leading the team becomes much harder. The morale of the team drops. That's why it's always important for the captain to perform.

At the start, I wasn't performing as well, but everyone believed in me. After a few matches, I started performing, and things changed.

Tamim Iqbal has spoken about several BPL issues, like retaining six players and rescheduling the tournament. Do you see areas that need reform?

Bangladesh cricket is a brand. When I play against different teams, I see how much respect Bangladesh receives. Everyone knows that Bangladesh is a team capable of beating any side at any time.

Our main problem is consistency. We struggle mentally to maintain form. But Bangladesh has produced many world-class cricketers and will continue to do so. This should be reflected in how the BPL is organized.

Most of the top performers in this BPL were local players. But organizing the tournament at a time when four or five other major leagues are going on is not ideal. If there's one or two other leagues running, that's manageable, but not four or five. This affects the availability of top international players, making the tournament less competitive.

This time, the BPL was arranged within a short time because of the new board. If given more time, I believe they will organize it better in the future.

You are generally seen as more suited for Tests and ODIs rather than T20s. But after becoming the Player of the Tournament in the BPL, do you feel your place in the T20 team should be more secure?

I haven't played many T20 matches. If I had been given a consistent role, I might have performed better.

I have proven myself in Tests and ODIs when given opportunities. But in T20s, I never got that chance. It takes time to adjust to a format. In T20s, I had to work hard to earn my place.

Even when I performed well, I was left out of the 2022 T20 World Cup squad, which was disappointing. After my performances, being dropped raised questions.

After this BPL performance, do you have any message for the board regarding your T20 position?

If the board still has doubts about me in T20s, then I don't need to be in the team. I will just focus on Tests and ODIs.

But when you win a Player of the Tournament award in a T20 league, you naturally want to establish yourself in that format too. I will discuss this with the management when the time is right.

In the BPL, you opened the batting in some matches and scored the most runs there. Was this your decision or the team's plan?

It was my plan. Since I played at No. 4 for Bangladesh in the last T20 series, I wanted to continue in that position in the BPL.

But then I realized my strength was in using the powerplay effectively. So, I decided to open. After I started opening, our batting approach changed.

Would you prefer a specific batting position in the national T20 team?

I think No. 3 or No. 4 would be ideal for me in T20s.

Bangladesh's Champions Trophy squad does not include Liton Kumar Das, which might make it difficult to arrange the batting order or could put extra pressure on the team. How prepared are you to handle this pressure as a batter?

First, I need to understand my role and what the team management expects from me. Once I have clarity on that, I will try to play accordingly. Sometimes, I may succeed, and sometimes I may not. However, it's not solely my responsibility, nor is it something I have to do alone—that would put unnecessary pressure on me. When I play for Bangladesh, I never think that everything depends on me. It's a collective effort, and I am there to support. There are times when the situation demands that I step up, and that's a different matter entirely. It all depends on the circumstances.

In the BPL, you delivered an all-round performance, and the team expects the same from you. There has also been a long-standing expectation that you will become an all-rounder like Shakib Al Hasan. Since the start of your career, many have anticipated this. How far do you think you have come in achieving that? And how much further do you need to go to reach Shakib's level?

Shakib bhai has been batting in the top order since the beginning of his career. He secured his position there by consistently playing in that role. But if you look at my international career, I have spent about seven years batting at No. 7 or 8, mostly at No. 8. Occasionally, I have been asked to open due to team combinations or when the team was in trouble, but the majority of my time has been spent batting at No. 8. A batsman in that position rarely gets the opportunity to play big innings unless the team is in crisis and six wickets have already fallen. There have been several matches where this has happened, and I have contributed to victories—everyone has seen it, so I don't need to say it.

But what surprises me is that now that I am batting higher up the order, people suddenly start commenting on my strike rate and other aspects. Instead of that, I believe I should be supported. I have spent years batting at No. 8, and now I am transitioning to the top order and performing well—shouldn't that be encouraged? In the four innings I've played in the top order, by Allah's grace, I haven't done badly. I may struggle at times, but that doesn't mean I won't succeed. A player needs ample opportunities in a specific position to establish himself. That was easier for Shakib bhai, but it has been much more challenging for me. If I continue playing in the top order regularly, maybe I will reach a certain level. I don't know if I will ever be like Shakib bhai—he is a brand for Bangladesh, a role model we have all grown up watching. That is a huge inspiration for us.

How do you assess Bangladesh's chances in the Champions Trophy?

Every match will be tough. Winning against these strong teams is the only way we can progress to the next round. For us, every game is challenging, and it's crucial for everyone to perform. A team cannot become champions or reach a good position if only one or two players perform. All 11 players need to contribute. If we all play well together, our team can achieve a strong standing.

Head coach Phil Simmons has said that the team did not get the best preparation. Will this put you at a mental disadvantage?

I think the coach meant something different. What he was trying to convey is that before a major tournament, we played in the BPL, which is a T20 competition and quite different from ODIs. If we had 10 days or two weeks for training and practice matches, our preparation would have been better. But he didn't say our preparation was poor. T20 and ODI cricket are very different. In T20s, batsmen have an aggressive mindset, and if they don't have a transition period, that approach might unintentionally carry over to ODIs. If we had a week or 10 days to train and play two or three practice matches, we could have adjusted better. I believe that's what the coach meant. Our preparation was not bad, but it could have been better.

After playing T20s for a long time, you are now heading into an ODI tournament. Will transitioning from T20 to ODI be difficult?

The training sessions we have had recently were very important for this transition. We will also have a practice match in Dubai and further training sessions, which will help everyone adapt.

Bangladesh was once considered the strongest in ODIs. But recently, the team has performed better in Tests and T20s. Under your captaincy, Bangladesh was whitewashed in ODIs on the West Indies tour, but the team won the T20 series 3-0. Do you think the identity of Bangladesh as an ODI-dominant team is changing?

No, just because we had a bad ODI series or two doesn't mean we have become a weak team in this format. Likewise, winning a couple of series doesn't make us a top-tier team either. Consistency is key. After the World Cup, we haven't played many ODIs. When a team plays regularly, momentum builds. For example, we were playing a lot of Test matches recently, which helped us win two matches in Pakistan. Did anyone expect us to beat Pakistan in their home conditions? When a team is consistently playing a format, it helps performance. Maybe because we were focused on Tests, it took some time to refocus on ODIs. But we are not a bad ODI team.

You have successfully captained age-level teams, the national team, and in the BPL. If the national team considers you for captaincy, how would you approach it?

If the board entrusts me with this responsibility, I believe it should be a long-term process. If it's given for a short period, it will be very difficult for me. But if they consider a long-term plan for the benefit of the team, then I will think about it.