Bangladesh鈥檚 young leg-spinner Rishad Hossain is keen to improve his variations under the tutelage of their newly appointed spin bowling coach, Mushtaq Ahmed.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board has recently appointed the former legendary Pakistan leg-spinner until the end of the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and USA.
The Pakistani succeeds Sri Lankan Rangana Herath, who quit the position last year after the Tigers鈥� opening Test against New Zealand in Sylhet.
Mushtaq, who has previously served as the spin bowling coach of England, the West Indies, and Pakistan, will begin his tenure with the next home series against Zimbabwe, which begins on May 3.
鈥楢lthough I haven鈥檛 met him yet, once I do, I will be keen to focus on the bowling variations,鈥� Rishad told 抖阴精品.
The 21-year-old also believes that Mushtaq鈥檚 presence will significantly strengthen Bangladesh鈥檚 spinning core, allowing them to overcome their current shortcomings, and that the latter will be particularly useful for the leggies.
鈥極f course, it will be great for me because the BCB had never appointed a leg-spinner before. I believe we would immensely benefit from him. We would be able to overcome our current deficiencies by collaborating with him because he is a legendary bowler,鈥�
Rishad鈥檚 outstanding performance in the most recent series against Sri Lanka cemented him as one of Bangladesh鈥檚 undisputed white-ball cricket contenders.
In the third ODI against their opponents, the right-hander smashed an unbeaten 18-ball 48 to help the hosts win the three-match ODI series 2-1.
He again demonstrated his batting worth in the third T20I against the same side in Sylhet, when his 53 off 30 balls helped the Tigers post 146 after a batting collapse [32-6] in response to the tourists鈥� 174-7. He also took 2-35 in the match.
When asked what the reason for his exceptional batting was, he said, 鈥業n fact, I used to bat from the start of my career. Besides bowling, I also liked to bat.鈥�
His preferred delivery as a leg-spinner is topspin and he is looking to work with the new coach to hone the technique.
鈥極f course, my preferred delivery is topspin. Nonetheless, I would like to use it more efficiently, which is something I want to learn from Mushtaq Ahmed.鈥�
Rishad is termed as the country鈥檚 second best finisher after Mahmudullah, thanks to his effective leg-spin and aggressive batting. However, he is not thinking about it too much; instead, he is focused on the present.
鈥楾o be honest, I鈥檓 not thinking about too many things right now. I鈥檓 just trying to play my brand of cricket. Let鈥檚 see what happens in the upcoming days. I want to do something positive for my country.鈥�
Rishad, who made his ODI debut against New Zealand in Nelson in December 2023, took one wicket in three matches at an economy rate of 5.48, while in the T20Is, where he was capped against Ireland last year in Sylhet, he took six wickets in nine matches at an economy rate of 7.28.
On the other hand, he is now the fourth highest wicket taker in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League, with 23 wickets from 10 games for Shinepukur Cricket Club.