Mominul Haque was left surprised to be named Bangladesh’s Test captain last month after ICC decided to ban Shakib Al Hasan for two years for failing to report approaches made to him by a bookie in the past, but is looking forward to take on the top Test team in the world.
Having never led a side in domestic cricket, Mominul told reporters ahead of the first Test in India that he was rather taken aback at the thought of replacing the 32-year-old all-rounder.
“I was not ready at all. It was completely unexpected. I never thought even in my dreams that I will be the captain of Bangladesh or I will captain the Test side,” said Mominul on late Wednesday.
Holding the record of being the only Bangladesh batsman to score hundreds in both innings of a Test match, Mominul’s red-ball career has been quite a success. He has played 36 Tests and scored 2,613 runs and has the highest average among his country’s batsmen at 41.47.
“I am very excited as I think (Kohli) is the best player in the world, the best batsman in all formats combined. Thinking about that makes me feel good,” Mominul said.
Talking about the challenge that awaits him and his teammates in the two-match Test series, the first one on November 14 in Indore and the second one on November 22 in Kolkata, he delved on the topic of the pink ball.
“We have not played a Test under the floodlights and with the pink ball. It is a very good chance to play good cricket,” the left-hander said while insisting the captaincy would not affect his game.
“I never considered captaincy as pressure or responsibility. If I keep thinking that as a captain I have to take extra responsibility to carry the team forward, then I will be in some pressure.”
“But if I play my natural game, and think that I am a batsman who needs to score for his team, then it will not have any effect,” he concluded.
The 28-year-old is not part of T20 squad, which won the first match of the series in New Delhi, making history in the process — of registering the first-ever win against India in the shortest format of the game. The second match is in Rajkot on Thursday.
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