Mehidy Hasan, Bangladesh bowler, World Cup 2019 Player Full Profile: Conditions in England may pose challenges for off-spinner

Popularly known as ‘Miraz’,  Mehidy Hasan first burst onto the scene during the home Test series against England back in 2016. With his accurate off-spin, he took 19 wickets in that series, which is a record for a debutant in a two-Test affair. His heroics of 12 for 159 at Mirpur, helped his team to register the first-ever and only Test triumph over England till date. However, in in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in the United Kingdom, it will be a different ball game altogether for this youngster. Finger spinners these days are not exactly a hot property in limited-overs cricket. Furthermore, the pitches in England are not expected to offer much purchase for an off-break bowler like Mehidy. And in this Bangladesh team, there are people like Mosaddek Hossain and Sabbir Rahman, who are proper batsmen as well as capable of bowling more than decent part-time spin. [caption id=“attachment_6560751” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz. AFP[/caption] Hence, it is highly unlikely that Mehidy will be preferred in Bangladesh’s first-choice playing eleven, at least at the initial stages of the World Cup. But, if it is a dry summer and the pitches start turning, this chap can certainly turn out to be an important member of his team’s scheme of things. The youngster has been a huge admirer of Ravichandran Ashwin. He has modeled his bowling action much like the Indian off-spinner. He bowls wicket to wicket on helpful conditions; Mehidy can be a difficult bowler to handle. However, he is yet to prove his mettle on overseas conditions. Nevertheless, down the order, he is more than a handy batsman but thus far, he is yet to justify his talent. Interestingly, in the 2018 Asia Cup final, Mehidy was sent to open the innings alongside Lition Das and the duo shared a crucial 120-run stand. Going forward in his career, potentially Mehidy is expected to be one of the premier all-rounders of Bangladesh. He is also being considered as a future captain of the country. For all the latest news, opinions and analysis from ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, click here