Miraz Prefers Batting Higher Up the Order Despite Outstanding Performances

Mehidy Hasan Miraz has been a standout performer in the ongoing series against Pakistan, rescuing his team from challenging situations by batting at number 8. His all-round performance throughout the series earned him the Player of the Series award. However, Miraz has expressed a desire to move up the batting order, citing the pressures of batting lower down.

Miraz shared his thoughts during a media interaction at Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Monday. He emphasized the difficulties of batting at number 8, stating, “I don’t want to be at number 8. There is a lot of pressure. Often, the team has performed well, and then you have to come in at number 8. Sometimes, when everyone fails, you have to bat under pressure. That’s why I mentioned I don’t want to be the best at number 8; I want to be the best higher up the order.”

Having excelled as an all-rounder and being named the Player of the Series against Pakistan, Miraz looks ahead to the upcoming series against India. When asked about his plans for the India series, he said, “I can’t make specific plans before any tour; it becomes stressful. I didn’t expect to be named Player of the Series before the Pakistan series either. My aim was to perform well for the team. If expectations are too high, it adds pressure. I’m trying to stay calm.”

Miraz acknowledged that he will have a bigger role to play following the retirement of Shakib Al Hasan, stating, “Both Shakib bhai and I are currently playing. Everyone eventually has to retire. Every team has replacements. Not everyone can play forever. When Shakib bhai is no longer around, my role may become more important.”

Looking forward to the series against India, Miraz remains optimistic despite the challenges. He commented, “Every series is challenging. Since we performed well in the Pakistan series and there isn’t much gap between the two series, we are in good form. If we continue our good form, we can definitely expect positive outcomes.”

Miraz is hopeful of a strong performance against India, adding, “There will definitely be challenges. We have played Test matches in India before, but our past performances haven’t been great. This time, we are going with expectations. I hope we can enjoy the challenge and compete well. We will try to fight and perform well against them.”