Najmul Hossain tasked with keeping Bangladesh's emotions in check

Can Najmul Hossain help Bangladesh overcome their biggest challenge ahead of the second Test against Australia?

It was certainly not something he was ready for when he, along with his teammates, arrived in Australia ahead of the series. But after their historic Test win over Australia at Darwin, managing the emotions of his teammates seemed to be his first priority.

Leading into the second Test in Mackay, Bangladesh's rise in Test cricket turned out to be a topic of discussion and if statistics are taken into account, the graph is moving upward. Bangladesh earned 10 wins in the last 45 Tests in foreign conditions, with six of them coming in the last 17 Tests.

After earning their Test status in 2000, Bangladesh earned their first Test win away from home in 2009 against an under-strength West Indies team. Until that point, their away record was miserable, losing 28 of the 30 Tests they had played, drawing the other two.

Bangladesh's self belief recently received a big boost when they picked up a famous win over New Zealand at Mount Maunganui. However, Bangladesh need to take lessons from that series, considering they were crushed by the hosts in the second Test at Christchurch when they handed them an innings defeat to level the series.

Bangladesh failed to follow the process in Christchurch that brought them success in the previous game at Mount Maunganui, and it was largely due to an adrenaline rush as they were unable to control the emotions that dictated their performance.

There is a thin line between being confident and being over-confident, and addressing it makes someone a leader rather than just a captain. That seemed to be the case with Najmul, as he is well aware of the emotional factor that can very well misguide them in the middle.

"Before we came here, we always talked about how this is going to be a very challenging series for us. We have to enjoy these opportunities and this challenge," said Najmul.

"After that first Test, there is a lot of emotion going on. As a professional cricketer, we have to come again and again when we are going to face new conditions and new challenges. So, the last couple of days, we had a very good preparation phase," he said.

"The players are very professional, and some of the experienced guys are there, so they talk about it (controlling emotions) with the young players. We are coming back again to do the right things over and over in practice. Those are the things we have been trying to do in the change room and in practice. The boys are ready to go again to do well for the team.

"It's a proud moment for all the players, even for ex-cricketers from Bangladesh. But it's done, I think. It's gone, and we need to play five days of good cricket. This is a very important Test match for us to do well again against this bowling and batting attack. We did a great job, but we need to focus on this Test match, and we have prepared ourselves very well over the last couple of days," he added.

Najmul said that they are ready to change their plans if required but added they are comfortable playing the patient game. "We have different plans. We are not going to play every single Test match in the same way. We try to adjust to the conditions. We try to focus on how they are going to attack us and prepare for that.

"In the subcontinent, sometimes we play differently. So, it depends on the conditions, the surface, and the bowling attack. The last Test match, that was the plan, that we need to be very patient enough. As I said, they have been playing very good cricket for probably more than 50 years. So, we have to be very patient. As a Bangladesh Test team, we are not experienced enough, so we have to be patient."