Despite having topped the run charts in the National Cricket League T20 (316 runs) and recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League T20 (511), opening batter Mohammad Naim remains overlooked for the national team since September 2023. In a conversation with The Daily Star's Samsul Arefin Khan, the 25-year-old discussed his frustrations over missed opportunities and approach to overcoming setbacks, among other issues. The excerpts of the interview are as follows:

The Daily Star (DS): Following a purple patch, what are your expectations?

Mohammad Naim (MN): To be honest, it is the ultimate goal of all players to represent the national team. If I keep the expectation of playing in the national team or think that I should get a chance in the team, and if it doesn't happen, self-doubt will occur inside me regarding my performances. I don't want to bring these thoughts into my mind… Currently, I'm planning to perform well in the next tournament [Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League for Prime Bank from 3rd March] and don't have the expectation that I must play in the national team.

DS: Do you feel unlucky about limited opportunities?

MN: You are talking about my performance in the last two or three seasons, but how many opportunities did I get in national team then? Nobody asked me about my mental health at that time. When I was at peak form, I couldn't utilise the opportunity in ODI setup. Nobody wants to know why I couldn't do that. I don't want to blame anyone and feel that it was my fault that I couldn't prepare myself well mentally. Scoring 900-plus [932] runs in a tournament [in DPL 2023] isn't a joke.

In Bangladesh, mental health isn't quite valued. But it can have an impact on some cricketers, if not everyone.

When I played under Russell Domingo, you can check my performance. But when I was under Hathurusingha, I couldn't say that I was mentally happy to perform in the national side. I couldn't play tension-free in the national team. I was always under extra pressure. I didn't personally feel that the coach wanted me to be mentally stable. I couldn't play fearless cricket in those ODIs [six matches] I played under him and always had a fear that if I failed, I would be dropped. The attitude was kind of a threat -- if you didn't perform, you would be dropped.

DS: How has your mindset changed?

MN: Right now, I have developed a mentality that, no matter how big a coach you are, you can't disturb me mentally. But I didn't have that attitude two or three years ago like I do now. Whether I perform or not, I know how to keep myself organised. I think professional and personal life both matter a lot in staying organised.

DS: How hard is it to prepare when out of the national team?

MN: To be honest, my regular job is to perform at the top level and always remain on the radar of the national team. When I was dropped from the national team, I should have been in the Bangladesh Tigers programme or any other camp. But I wasn't considered for anywhere. So what message did I get?

There will be two types of cricketers in the Bangladesh Tigers programme: one who got dropped from the national team and the others who are being prepared for the national team. But ultimately, after I was dropped from the national team, I didn't find myself anywhere.

Actually, when I performed at the top level and my performance wasn't valued, it raised questions about the quality of the domestic tournaments. But do you have anything better than the BPL or DPL in the country? I have no right to question those, but what I can do is identify my weaknesses and work hard to improve my performance.

DS: Your strike rate was criticised before. Have you worked on it?

MN: Not only in this BPL, but I also batted with a good strike rate in the NCL T20 as well. I have been doing mind-training for the last three years. But it takes time to implement these things in your game. Apart from that, my family also helped me stay away from negativity. People will say both good and bad things about me, but I don't think much about that now. I think my maturity level has increased a lot, and I want to take everything in an easy way.