Bangladesh all-rounder Mehedi Hasan Miraz expressed his joy after climbing to the second spot in the ICC ODI bowlers' rankings and stated that being a regular feature in the Tigers' ODI squad since 2018 helped him achieve the milestone.
"When I started playing for the national team, I only played Test matches. I didn't get chances to play ODIs initially. I got a proper chance to play ODI in 2018 during the West Indies tour and we won the series. Since then I've been playing ODI regularly. I have played in the Asia Cup, faced the West Indies at home, went to Ireland and played the World Cup
. But that West Indies series was my breakthrough. I've been performing since then with the grace of the almighty," said the 23-year-old cricketer.The youngster also explained how getting an opportunity to play in the World Cup boosted his confidence.
"Playing the World Cup has increased my confidence as I faced world-class players at that time. My goal was not to let the batsmen dominate me. I have always tried to focus on the little details.
"In ODI cricket, batsmen have an urgency to score more runs, so I strived to limit that. My main focus was to maintain a good economy rate," Mehedi revealed his mindset in the ODIs.
Mehedi was grateful for the constant support of his teammates throughout his career. The off-spinner also stressed the importance of bagging the remaining 10 points from the Tigers' ongoing series against Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh have already sealed their first-ever bilateral series victory against Sri Lanka with their thumping 103-run win in the second ODI on Tuesday.
Mehedi, whose four wickets proved pivotal in helping Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka in the first match of the three-match ODI series last Sunday, remained adamant about winning the final game on Friday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
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