It would have been any mentor's dream to see his disciple shine in his first international appearance for his country. And one could hardly ask for a better start than Mehedi Hasan Miraz, who made his international bow against England on Thursday.
Miraz became the youngest Bangladeshi to take five wickets on Test debut and also the fourth youngest bowler in the history of five-day cricket to achieve the feat as he picked up 5/64 from his 33 overs to take the home side to the driving seat during the first day's play.
Sohel Islam, who is currently the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s head coach of the Under-17 age-level group, guided Miraz right from the early stages of his career. Miraz learned many bowling tricks from Sohel from his U-15 days. He was also the assistant coach of the U-19 team which was led admirably by Miraz.
Bangladesh's Mahmudullah joins in to celebrate with debutant Mehedi Hasan Miraz
DHAKA TRIBUNESohel believes it’s just the start of a new life for Miraz. He also urged his student to keep his feet on the ground, forget whatever he has achieved on the first day and look to continue what he has been doing over the years.
“Obviously I am very happy for him and my message to him will be to remain focused on his game and don’t let anything else come between his performance. It’s just the start of his career and whatever he has already achieved is surely the reward of his hard work,” Sohel told Dhaka Tribune over phone on Thursday.
According to Sohel, the biggest strength of Miraz’s bowling is his accuracy that was clearly evident right from the age-level groups.
“I think his biggest strength is his accuracy as he can bowl in the right line right from the start of his spell. He also has the experience of bowling with the new ball from the age-level period and it was no exception in his international debut,” he added.