Bangladesh’s in and out Test cricketer Anamul Haque is confident that he can manage to overcome the hurdle in the longer-version cricket even without a sound technique.
‘There are a lot of batsmen, who have scored 10 to eight thousand runs without having any footwork,’ Anamul told reporters at Khulna on Saturday. ‘So I am not thinking that I won’t be able to do that.
‘Every player [opener] goes through this problem. If I think that there are problems with my footwork then it will get into my head. So, I am not thinking in this line instead just thinking how to work on it [to improve it],’ said Anamul.
National selectors included Anamul for the second Test match with a view to use him down the order so that he can provide some support to skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, who often ran short of partners in Test matches.
The decision to shift the opener down the order was solely made considering his poor technique that gets easily exposed by the opponents.
Though Anamul managed to get some successes in limited over cricket, where fielding side concentrate on stopping the run flow with defensive field placement, he could not repeat that in Test.
As a result, Anamul ended up making 73 runs in four Test matches with an average of 9.12 while his ODI career remained quite successful with three centuries and a fifty in 22 matches contributing 692 runs averaging 34.60.
Anamul was named as the skipper of BCB XI for the Acharya Memorial Challenger Trophy and joined the squad on Friday after playing their last league game of the tournament against Bengal on October 30.
The new batting order hardly seemed to be a cause of concern for the batsman as he is confident of making a contribution to the team, even if he is demoted in the pecking order.
‘There are a lot of renowned international cricketers who batted lower down the order in Test matches but opened in the ODI format,’ said Anamul.
‘I want to lend my support to the team, wherever I play in the order.
‘I am working hard from six in the morning and in three segments until noon. I am feeling that the way I am working it will pay off,’ he said.
‘I was not an opener initially and batted at number four or five earlier. When I played for the first time in the Under-19 World Cup I changed my position as an opener and since then I am opening for the last four years.
‘So, getting accustomed to a new position won’t be a problem I guess. I always hope to take the charge of the team and take the total of the team to a respectable position,’ he added.
The right-hander added that he is working on his forward shot as that is found out to be his major lacking in his batting. He insisted that all he needs in Test is a big knock which will change perception about him.
‘Whenever a player goes through a lean patch all he needs is a big innings and I am just away from playing a big knock in Test cricket,’ said Anamul
‘I am working on my forward shots [front-foot shots] against swinging deliveries. I am working on how to play in the front-foot whether it is a forward defensive shot or leaving the deliveries because these are the areas where I have lackings. This will help me both in Test cricket and ODIs,’ he added.
Team sources said that the selectors are in favour of giving middle-order batsman Marshall Ayub a chance for Shuvagata Hom and Anamul’s possibility in the second Test depends if they opt for one seam bowler.
-With New Age input
