Ashraful stresses process over milestones after Mominul falls in 80s again

Bangladesh batting coach Mohammad Ashraful said he is not worried about the lack of centuries from Mominul Haque, emphasizing that Mominul is more focused on his process than personal milestones.

Mominul, who scored 82 in the first Test against Ireland in Sylhet, again fell short of a hundred when debutant Gavin Hoey dismissed him for 87 in the second innings. In the first innings, he was out for 63 in unfortunate fashion. Despite scoring 13 hundreds and 25 half-centuries in Tests, Mominul has now been dismissed in the 80s on seven occasions when well set to reach three figures.

"Maybe he doesn't think about it much, that he is getting out at 70–80," Ashraful told reporters after the fourth day's play. "It's important for him to know whether his process is correct or not. I discussed this with him. Is his process right? For example, he got out in the first innings; you can't say anything about that. It was totally unlucky."

"So, whether his process is correct is important. He probably doesn't worry much about the runs. However, my personal opinion is that when I used to talk to Sachin Tendulkar, he would also take a lot of time to score those 10 runs when he was at 90 towards 100. Even in ODI cricket, to score those 10 runs for his 100th century, he took about 20–25 balls. So, sometimes people worry about personal achievement, and sometimes they don't," Ashraful said.

The coach expressed support for the entire batting unit, even when players fail to convert starts into big scores, and urged patience.

"It's not that they are not scoring. They are not throwing away their wickets. If you look, in all three innings of these two Test matches, our wickets were good-ball dismissals. When you get out to a good ball, I think it's better to speak positively than complain. Of course, they feel worse than us that if they had scored 100–200, it would have been better for them. So, I certainly hope that we think positively, and they will score big innings in the future," he said.

Ashraful also sympathized with Taijul Islam, noting that the bowler's contributions often go unnoticed compared to batters. Recently, the Bangladesh Cricket Board arranged a grand ceremony for Mushfiqur Rahim's 100th Test, but there was little recognition for Taijul, who is currently Bangladesh's highest wicket-taker in Tests, surpassing Shakib Al Hasan.

"Yes, it is a bit unlucky for Taijul. Cricket usually favours the batsmen more. It's unfortunate that Taijul could not get the recognition despite performing the way he is performing," he said. "If you look at every Test match, he performed even when Shakib was playing. After Shakib left, he is now in the leading role. So, of course, we have a team meeting after every game, after such achievements. Like Joy scored 1,000 runs in Test cricket. So, definitely, there will be something. But yes, it's a bit unlucky for the bowlers," Ashraful added.

He also praised his working relationship with senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin. After Ashraful's appointment as batting coach, Salahuddin initially resigned but later decided to continue until the end of his tenure, running up to the 2027 World Cup.

"Since I have come as a batting coach for this series, Salahuddin Bhai is the assistant senior coach. He has given me the floor to work as the batting coach. But my relationship with him has always been good. I try to pass on my experiences to any player who needs input through Salahuddin Bhai since he has been with the team for the last one year, and most of the players have worked with him," Ashraful said.

"I am new to coaching, so if I need to give any input to a player, I try to call Salahuddin Bhai, share my experience with him, and he tries to convey it. We are trying to work in this way," he added. "Everyone has accepted me very well, and I am also trying to share my experiences with them. Since this level doesn't require much change in technique, providing mental support is the most important thing. Just reminding them of things like how your routine should be while playing a ball, if you can just remind them of those small things, it is enough for a player."

"For example, getting out between 30 and 50, and then your rate of scoring 100 after 50. Like Shanto's rate—if you look at his rate after 50, it is almost 61%. So, if you can just remind each player that your rate of scoring a hundred after 50 is 61%, meaning the hard work you do to score 30 to 50, it becomes easy for you afterward," he explained. "These small things, I feel at this level, if you can keep them mentally fresh and free, it is possible to perform. Alhamdulillah, everyone—coaching staff and players—is very supportive."