Photo: Firoz Ahmed
The kind of bat speed Tawhid Hridoy generates has already been a telling factor since his introduction to international cricket. At the highest level, however, technique and mentality are opposite sides of the same coin.
Hridoy showed he can stand up to such situations while having that clarity of mind in the first T20I against Afghanistan on Friday. The targeting of specific bowlers was the plan and Hridoy executed.
The way he picked off Azmatullah Omarzai over backward square-leg for a six in the second T20I is the kind of display now changing how the Tigers can approach the shortest format.
Replying to a question about that particular shot, the 22-year-old gave the idea of freeness.
“It’s normal. When the ball arrived, my body automatically went for it,” he told The Daily Star in an interview yesterday.
“Yes maybe no one here has played it before but they have started and slowly they will play these kinds of shots more,” he was confident the mindset is changing. That kind of confidence is also now rubbing off, transforming Bangladesh with each shot he plays.
Yet, younger players are often found wanting at the big stage. Hridoy wants to go a different way and play such scenarios more frequently.
“In T20s, the matches fluctuate a lot and it’s important to execute. I feel that any batter able to chase in such a game would get a big confidence boost. These kinds of scenarios don’t arrive frequently. I would want every batter to bat in such situations because then they will get the confidence,” he affirmed.
While Fazalhaq Farooqi has been the pick of the bowlers in the recently concluded series, Hridoy kept his calm to read the scenario, knowing that the whole attack was quality.
“It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s spin or pace. Rashid Khan, Mujeeb [Ur Rehman] and [Mohammad] Nabi are very good bowlers. In T20s it’s important to target one or two bowlers from the opposition. We also planned for the match in that way.
“Our plan, not only speaking of Farooqi or Omarzai, was that it was a better option to go for their pacers rather than their spinners. It’s about the calculative risks you take according to various match scenarios. If the situation had demanded that we would have to take on Rashid khan, then we would have tried to take him on too,” he underlined.
Even during his brief international career, he has falsely been tagged as a leg-side oriented player. “Many are saying that I am hitting through one zone only but it’s not like that. I’m playing through cover as well. I have hit through mid-off as well in the first T20I. It depends on the situation. Would I not hit it if it’s in the leg-side zone?” he argued.
The clarity of mind means his calculations have come off through early hard thinking. Then the bat swings freely and decisively and it is the absence of fear of repercussions that helps him think clearly. Was he fearful he could get out to Farooqi while playing his favourite shot, the pull?
“In any walk of life, whether in your profession or mine, when you are fearful, the outcome wouldn’t be good. It’s best to not keep fear within yourself. What will happen? Maybe I will play badly or the team will lose or maybe I will be dropped. What more can happen?
“So personally, I think that way and feel that this isn’t a game of fear. You have to keep your mind fresh and be courageous or else you won’t be able to survive,” he concludes, knowing that only a similar mindset will change Bangladesh’s fortunes in the shortest format.
