Mahedi Hasan rues lack of consistent opportunities in Bangladesh’s T20 setup

Mahedi Hasan rues lack of consistent opportunities in Bangladesh's T20 setup

Bangladesh T20I all-rounder Mahedi Hasan has expressed frustration at not receiving a consistent run in the side, suggesting frequent omissions have hampered his ability to perform.

A T20 specialist, Mahedi was left out of the second and third matches of the recent T20I series against Australia despite contributing in the opener, where he scored an unbeaten 29 from No. 8 and took 1 for 29. The team management opted for left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed after Mahedi failed to make inroads during the Powerplay in the first game.

"Regret is often there. As a cricketer I only play the T20 format but even then I am not a regular. More often than not I fall under the requirements of matchup or combination. It is disappointing for me," Mahedi told T-Sports.

"If I could play regularly I could have performed better."

Mahedi admitted being a one-format cricketer makes it harder to retain his place.

"Those who play two or three formats are constantly in touch with international cricket. Since I only play T20s, sometimes I have to wait one or two months between games. Even in a series of two or three matches I don't get to play all of them. Somehow I am excluded due to team combination."

Drawing a comparison with Bangladesh's Test specialists, he noted that while they also endure long gaps, they are guaranteed opportunities once selected.

"If you look at Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim and Taijul Islam, who only play Test cricket, they also play after gaps, but in any Test match they get two innings. T20 is different, played in high intensity. It would have been better had I played regularly."

The all-rounder also questioned perceived disparity between treatment of batters and bowlers in Bangladesh's T20 setup.

"A batter of this country gets a lot of opportunities but it is not the same for a bowler. The top two T20 batters of our country will never be dropped, this should also apply for the top two T20 bowlers… My economy rate is among the lowest in Bangladesh, yet I'm not a regular. Why is this happening?"