‘Mashrafe and Tamim bhai are supporting me a lot’

Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz said that he has been getting advice from former captains Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Tamim Iqbal during his captaincy stint.

Miraz's captaincy has come under fire for the way Bangladesh failed in the away series against the West Indies and in the series against Afghanistan in the UAE. His captaincy stint in ODIs has been anything but rosy with three wins in 13 matches.

After Bangladesh's series-clinching 179-run win over the West Indies in the third ODI in Mirpur, which brought an end to a run of four consecutive ODI series defeats, Miraz was asked how much he is enjoying captaincy now.

"This is my third series as captain. I led in the West Indies, but I wasn't the full-time captain then. Shanto was the skipper in that series, and I captained because of his injury. But at the end of the day, it was definitely very difficult for me initially when I started. The more I do it, the more I will develop," Miraz said at the post-match press conference in Mirpur on Thursday.

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"Legendary Bangladesh players who have captained in many games are helping me a lot. They are supporting me from the background, especially the successful captains of Bangladesh.

"Mashrafe bhai is supporting me a lot and has advised me. Tamim bhai called me and told me how to do things better. Both of them are the most successful captains of Bangladesh. And honestly, they are supporting me a lot, even with all that happened in the last two series," Miraz said.

Miraz also credited Soumya Sarkar and Saif Hassan for the opening partnership which paved the way for the win which sealed a 2-1 series triumph.

Soumya and Saif missed out on tons but their 176-run stand which came from 152 deliveries put Bangladesh in the driving seat.

"The start is very important for a team. We haven't had a partnership like this from the top for a long time. But when such a partnership happens from the top, the team's mentality changes. Credit must be given to the two for the way they batted -- Saif and Soumya… As the two of them batted aggressively, it became easier for us," he said.

Given the nature of the Mirpur wicket, Bangladesh's aggressive start proved to be the decisive factor in the game. The Soumya-Saif duo scored at 6.55 runs per over when they were at the crease. Miraz credited the way they picked their scoring shots.

"You can see that batting on this wicket was not that easy either. But they took the risks and played their go-to shots. For example, Soumya played the reverse sweep against the right-arm off-spinner because that gives him more options to score runs. And Saif attacked the right-hand bowler. It means they took calculated risks. And I think the way they both batted is why our team was in a good position," he added.