The captain’s mantra to bring the best out of players
Mahmudullah Riyad
||CF Correspondent||
While Mahmudullah stands as captain in the first Test against Zimbabwe on Saturday, he would love to give his players enough ‘freedom’ in a bid to bring the best out of them.
Often dubbed as a ‘cool-headed’ person by his teammates, Mahmudullah said, “For me giving freedom to my players always remains at the top of my priority list as I believe it helps me to bring the best out of them.”
The interim Test skipper also said that he is motivated enough to take the challenge of leading the national team in the two-match Test series against Zimbabwe.
Mahmudullah, who is national vice-captain, will shoulder the responsibility of leading the side in absence of Shakib al Hasan who has been nursing his injured finger.
It was not the first time he is taking this role all of a sudden as he did it earlier when Shakib was ruled out against Sri Lanka in the Test series after he was injured in the tri-nation final at home against the same opposition.
“First of all it is unexpected because Shakib is a key player and his availability is always encouraging for us,” said Mahmudullah.
“It always brings a good feeling leading the national team but at the same time, it also puts some added responsibility. But the challenge of captaincy always inspires to bring the best out of me,” he said.
And stat showed how he enjoyed the captaincy: In two Tests in which he led the side, he scored 134 at a staggering average of 67 while his career average is only 28.67.
Mahmudullah added that his main aim is to bring back the confidence back into the dressing room after their disappointing series against West Indies earlier this year.
“We did not perform according to our expectation in the West Indies and to be honest we performed badly [in the tour]. We do have a big chance to prove our worth in the home condition and if we can do well in the opening Test by executing our skill then surely we can take that confidence forward in the next Test match,” he said.
