“Fearless” and “Team-First” Culture of Bangladesh
The three-match series against Zimbabwe starts next week, and Bangladesh’s new T20I skipper Nurul Hasan wants his team to play “fearless cricket” there. Nurul gave an insight into his mindset as he deflected difficult questions regarding his team’s struggles and his personal performance in the format at his maiden news conference as captain.
Mahmudullah was replaced as captain by Nurul for the BCB’s upcoming three T20I matches. Mahmudullah has held the position since 2019. However, the fact that Bangladesh has only won one of its past 13 T20I matches and has stalled in the competition is a serious issue. Generally speaking, Shakib Al Hasan, who was rested from the Zimbabwe trip, is expected to take over for the Asia Cup the following month, therefore Nurul is seen as a stopgap alternative.
Nurul, however, must be treated seriously. He is renowned for both his ferocity on the field and his quiet manner off it. It is a high ask for a player to captain a team with so much expectation, especially as he has just recently returned to the T20I format in Bangladesh’s most recent series. He said that his ability to control his excitement would be useful in his role as captain.
Cricket should be played bravely, Nurul said. “It increases opportunities. We also want to follow our procedure, but we can’t prepare too far in advance. Although I am proud to be the captain, I am more focused on the task that lies ahead. I attempted to [get the players to] play as a team at every level I have managed teams. I want to maintain the emphasis on the team.
“I don’t have many hopes or exciting plans for the future. Results and the past don’t really concern me all that much. I don’t really care about these things. I’ve been doing this well for a very long time.
Nurul declared that he would absorb the finest lessons from the past leaders, although he thinks that captains are quite different from one another. “I’ve gained a lot of knowledge from playing with [Mahmudullah] Riyad bhai,” he claimed. “I have gained knowledge from all of our captains, who are all quite different. I want to use what I’ve learned from each of those events in my job.
“Under the leadership of the veteran players, the team culture has developed in the previous two years. We must carry on with that. The impact of our senior cricket players cannot be expressed in a single or two words. Our task now is to advance Bangladesh cricket now that it has reached a certain level thanks to them.
Nurul had a meager T20I batting record of 271 runs at an average of 12.90 and a strike rate of 111.98, with the best score of 30 not out from 29 innings, but he believed that these stats did not accurately represent the number of his achievements.
The person who was expected to succeed Nurul after the Zimbabwe tour, however, praised the new skipper. Shakib declared, “I believe he is a worthy captain.” “The BCB named him captain because they believe he can help shape Bangladesh’s future. I wish him well. I wish him well in overcoming the obstacle in Zimbabwe.”
