Najmul Hossain has unbelievable qualities, he's a coach's delight: Sridharan Sriram

Sridharan Sriram is a man in demand in Bangladesh. After working as the technical consultant during last year's T20 World Cup, he was once again roped in for the same role for the 50-over tournament this year. In a chat with Cricbuzz, the former India spinner opens up about all that went wrong for Bangladesh in their underwhelming World Cup campaign.

Here are the excerpts:

How did you enjoy your stint with the Bangladesh setup as technical consultant?

I love being with the Bangladesh team. The boys and I have such a good rapport with the captain, and being with this team is something that I really enjoyed. That's why I came here when the board spoke to me. I have some sort of attachment and emotionally I think the boys are very attached with me, let's put it that way.

What really went wrong with Bangladesh batting?

For us it is pretty simple - the batters didn't convert their starts. I think they had opportunities when they could have converted their starts because in India if you want to succeed as a batting unit you have to start scoring hundreds. In India with the wickets and the conditions, a batting team can make an impact when a batter scores hundreds and that did not happen with us.

Do you think Bangladesh playing with the mindset of getting 300 runs everywhere resulted in failures in conditions that weren't easy?

I don't think so. I don't think we had any fixed target in our mind as 300, because sometimes even 400 runs are not good enough. I don't think we had any fixed target. We had to assess different conditions as we played in different soil textures. One of the greatest learning for a batter would be about how he can convert starts into meaningful performance. Sometimes even a hundred is not good enough... you have seen Maxwell get a double hundred. I think that is going to be the biggest learning for them going forward - how can we convert 30 or 40 runs into big scores like 100 or 150.

You backed Najmul Hossain Shanto despite everyone opposing such a move during the last T20 World Cup and now he seems to be playing in a different zone? What made you pick him at that point?

I saw two qualities in him and he still has those two qualities. One is that he wants to improve every day and he is working hard to get better as a batter and as a person with his temperament and mindset. These unbelievable qualities he has, and I think he is an absolute team man and a coach's delight because he works very hard on his game, [he is] honest with you and keen to get feedback and he will tell you if it doesn't work for him. But I like the honesty and his communication [skills], and he only wants Bangladesh to win.

It must be refreshing to see someone saying something doesn't work for him considering Bangladeshi cricketers are shy in expressing themselves in front of foreign coaches?

Yes we had some honest conversation. Like, he says I have tried this coach but it may not work or says, it looks difficult for me. It is easy when there is more communication with the players. I think he has been like that with every coach and that is a feedback I have got from all the coaches.

Do you think he is very strong mentally, considering he received a lot of criticism for his repeated failures before getting into his own groove during the last T20 World Cup?

I think he is mentally very strong and can keep the distraction out. As I said about his qualities - like wanting to get better and play to win the game... if you have these two qualities, it is easier to keep distractions out and outside noise away as all your focus would be to get better as a player.

Do you feel Shakib should have batted at number three considering he did so well in that position during last World Cup?

I think honestly we get too carried away with batting positions and numbers. I think batting positions have to be very flexible in the team and you can't have very... In 2019, Shakib was four years younger and now Shanto (Najmul) I think is our best number three at the moment. What Shakib has done is for the betterment of the team. He wants a youngster like Najmul Hossain to make that position his own. I think that was the best decision that Shakib could have taken. He obviously sacrificed his own position but I think it was done for the betterment of the team.

Shakib got out to short balls in seven games. Do you think it is an issue for him?

I don't think short ball is an issue. He has been working technically with few other issues like his head positioning and I think once he sorted that out, short ball became easier to play. Because he had other thing in his mind(regarding his head positioning) and now that he cleared that up he knows what to do and then the short ball was not an issue. These little doubts are enough at international levels to you know (irritate) and in a World Cup you play so quickly that you don't have time to sort out those things and work on your game. For players, volume of practice needs to be increased to sort out those little things but that is difficult in World Cup and probably that is the reason he went to Dhaka to make sure he gets enough time to work on his game.

You just mentioned we get carried away with batting position but don't you think it hurts the ego of a player to bat lower than his own batting position?

That happens because outside noise comes in. But what I feel is, if we explain to them, they are very open [to change] - that is my observation. I think the boys are very open and they are not very fixated with numbers or batting positions and I think they are very flexible and they have the ability to adapt. I think that happens ( hurting ego) when outside noise comes in like 'oh he has been thrown around in different positions' and once he fails a couple of times, the outside noise comes in and that is when they get disturbed. But I think players on their own are sort of open with the conversation.

How do you rate Mahmudullah comeback story?

Mahmudullah always had quality and he has such a calm head on his shoulder. I have never seen him ruffled in any situation and I have never seen him get angry or show emotions and I think that is a great persona to have. He is very methodical in the way he practices and sets good example for the youngsters.

Mahmudullah had gone through a lot in the recent past and yet in the World Cup he coped really well...

That comes from the experience of playing 250-300 matches. Because he played so much cricket he knows how to cope because it is never easy coming into the World Cup having been left out. People are always going to question every performance and I think that shows the experience that he got as he just focused on his preparations, like what he needs to do, and maintained his process like preparing for every bowler that he is going to face, and be very clear about his game plans and I think that comes with experience.

If stats are taken into consideration, Mushfiqur Rahim did very well at number four and now later demoted at six. Do you feel the move was wise?

I am not aware of the stats. I think it had happened (his demotion to no. 6) before the World Cup and I think it was decided that we need the experience at the back end of the innings.

Mushfiqur was open to it?

I don't know the conversation that took place before the World Cup. I think the conversation between the coach and him would be that we need experience in the back end specially when Mahmudullah was not in the team.

Don't you feel the team is too focused on match-ups, like having left-hand right-hand combination, rather than focusing on the work at hand?

Match-ups are very essential and I think having left-hand, right-hand combination against certain bowling attack is very essential .. Let me give you an example, against Sri Lanka there was so much dw and Theeksena was not a big factor, but if you see in some conditions where the wicket was gripping, you could not have two left-handers (Shakib and Najmul) because it would have been difficult.

I think in certain conditions, we have to look at match-ups because you cannot play into the opposition's hands. We cannot be very rigid but we cannot ignore those match-ups. We have got to have right balance.

Was sending Mehidy Hasan up the order for match-ups?

I think that was also done to lengthen the batting order. It is not only match-ups, but it also gives you a batter at eight and it lengthens your batting.

Do you feel Mehidy has the technique to handle top-class new-ball attack?

I think you have to play by the condition and the opposition and it cannot be like one size fits all. We must know when we can use Mehidy and when we cannot, and that is what we have tried. I think we have to be open to the call instead of getting fixated regarding Mehidy.

Leaving him at eight... he is not such a power hitter and not someone to have the power to play with the tailenders. Rather he can use the pace and can play spinners very well and if there is an opportunity to use him in the middle or at the top, we must continue to do that. Coming in at the 42nd or 43rd over, his batting skills will be wasted. But if we can make use of his batting somewhere up... he is someone who can rotate strike and not play too many dot balls and someone who can build partnerships and absorb pressure. I know top batters do get preference but if we can find a better use for Mehidy, it helps us because we know his limitations and strength and that is the balance that we need to focus on.

Litton Das got starts but failed to convert it? Is it a technical issue or a mental thing, like having concentration lapse?

He has got the potential to be one of the greatest batters of the world. His touch game is so good and his gift of timing is so good. He will be disappointed more than anybody for getting starts and not carrying it deep. When someone of that ability doesn't convert his starts, it is more disappointing for the player than anyone else. He has played around 80 to 90 one-day internationals and he is not a young guy anymore. He needs to take responsibility and have the hunger to be the best batter in the World. And that should come from within. I don't think it is a concentration issue. He has got big hundreds before and for him to come and do it day in and day out, I think it is about discipline.

Tanzid Tamim also failed to rise despite the fifty against India?

I always tell him if he had converted that fifty into an hundred... because he was batting so good and the wicket was so good, the pacers were expected to start operating as Kuldeep was probably on his eighth over at that point when he got out. He just let go of this opportunity. That is what cricket all about - it bites you hard when you let go of opportunities and that is something he will learn hopefully. He is very talented but needs to work on his technique and his mindset, and needs to find the right balance between attack and defence. I think we should encourage him to play aggressive brand of cricket.

Can you explain what positive brand of cricket would be?

Looking to score on every ball is positive and aggressive brand of cricket and moving your feet correctly - going back when the ball is short and going forward when it is fuller, that is positive. Positive mindset is looking to take every scoring opportunity and even if it is a defence, it is a positive defence - like your footwork is more assured.

What has been your focus as a technical consultant?

I think it's more about what I know of the Indian conditions. I had to be very careful not to step into anybody's shoes. I had to be respectful of that and I tried to help the head coach with my knowledge of the conditions to make his own decisions. But at the same time it's also about the rapport I had with the boys.

Hathurusingha has also developed a good working relationship with you. Can you explain how that has worked?

I think I enjoyed working with him. He knows what he is doing and he is very experienced. He has been coaching for so many years. I think he is tactically very good and he does a lot of homework which again is an impressive attribute. He sits down to watch lot of videos and wants to be tactically (astute).