Hridoy awaits his ‘time’ in T20I shake-up

Bangladesh are going into the T20I series against India with promise of more aggression and intent to win. But when going against international teams of the highest-order, Bangladesh's T20 merits fall short of the standard.

A big reason would be the lack of quality across the board compared to other top international teams but there is also a case for hindering progress of players, those that are capable of making an impact in T20Is, through swaps and changes.

Towhid Hridoy is one such player who has shown courage to take the game on.

Hridoy's batting position in ODIs is of particular interest. In the lead up to the ODI World Cup in 2023, he had batted mostly at number five but chaotic changes in the batting order saw him bat lower in the tournament.

Yesterday, he was hitting the ball pretty well once again during the practice session at the Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium. His bat swing and wristy flicks are the main components of his aggressive batting since coming into the national team.

Although he had initially made his name as a top-order player, Hridoy has not been allotted a fixed position in both white-ball formats for the Tigers.

Hridoy was asked whether it would be better for him to get a settled position.

"It's right that I have batted in several positions but that was according to the team's plans and what the team demanded of me, that's what I tried to do," he said, a smile breaking across his face as he answered the question.

Hridoy has batted mostly at number four in T20Is but also appeared in number five. Such differences do not matter in the shortest format. But an aggressive batter can make more of an impact when facing more deliveries.

Hridoy has struck a ton in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), batting at number three in the 2024 season where he scored over 400 runs.

The 23-year-old feels that he has to earn a promotion and a settled position in the Bangladesh team.

"You will find that every player does not get their favoured position in the batting order when they come to the national team. You have to create that space and when I deserve that spot, it will automatically come to me. If I can create that time, it will happen for me," he said.

Every whip of his wrists can offer perspective if Bangladesh are really looking to take the game on. Hridoy feels that time will come.