5 reasons why cricket can be excited about Mehidy Hasan

Bangladesh now have a fine crop of young players who have lifted the team to a new level over the past two years or so and one of the most eye-catching players to have emerged from that period is spin bowling all-rounder Mehidy Hasan, who made his debut last year against England.

In his very first series, he had the English batsmen in knots as Bangladesh famously came from behind to draw the two-Test series 1-1. So, let’s take a look at why cricket fans can be excited about the emergence of Mehidy Hasan.

#1 Uncomplicated action, does the basics right

Young spin bowlers often try too many things and end up bowling too many poor deliveries, that are invariably punished by international batsmen. That has been the undoing of many a young gifted spinner but in that regard, Mehidy is a refreshingly uncomplicated bowler and keeps things simple, while bowling to his strengths at most times.

Starting from his bowling action to his delivery stride, Hasan’s virtues as a bowler hinge on simplicity. As Bangladesh cricket writer Mohammad Isam says, he has a ‘quiet action where he trundles to the wicket before giving a slight leap before rotating his upper body. It is a beautifully simple action that has yielded him many wickets’.

In addition to that, Hasan is always ‘at the batsman’ and hardly ever gives him any respite especially if there is a semblance of assistance from the pitch. However, watching a young bowler getting the basics of off spin bowling right without getting carried away is certainly an exciting prospect for cricket fans of all hues.

#2 He is a thinking bowler

Mehidy is one of the smartest bowlers on the planet

In top-level cricket, talent alone does not work for long. Perseverance, hard work and above all, intelligence is incredibly important if a player is to really shine at the international level. Mehidy Hasan has that in abundance and one of his core strengths is identifying a batsman’s weakness and plugging away at it.

Case in point being his strategy against Australian captain and number 1 Test batsman Steve Smith in the recently-concluded 2-match Test series. Players like Smith do not have many weaknesses but a chink in his armour was exposed by Ravichandran Ashwin earlier this year, in the final Test of the India-Australia Test series. Ashwin bowled from around the wicket to stifle Smith’s run-making abilities and eventually brought about his downfall.

Hasan seemed to have studied that and followed the same strategy in the 1st Test and clean bowled the Australian captain in the 1st innings. When asked about the dismissal, he said, "We had a specific plan for Smith.” It is important to keep in mind that he is only 19 years old and a player who can outthink the world’s premier batsman at that age should certainly excite cricket fans.

#3 He can bamboozle batsmen with his guile

Mehidy celebrates after dismissing Steve Smith

Mehidy Hasan is not your typical modern spinner shrouded by ‘mystery’. It is his ability to bowl varying lengths and flight the ball that trouble the best batsmen in the world. On the other hand, Hasan gives the ball some serious rip and hence if the pitch is even a little conducive to spin, he can extract disconcerting turn.

That was exactly what was on show in his debut Test v England last year when he picked up six wickets in the first innings. Nick Hoult of The Daily Telegraph summed up the performance perfectly, “What was remarkable about Hasan’s performance was that he barely bowled a bad ball all day. He varied his flight, spun the ball hard and had the on-field presence of a confident, experienced bowler playing in his 50th Test.”

What is there not to be excited about?

#4 He is a decent batsman as well

Mehidy is no mug with the bat

Although Hasan is primarily known for his prodigious talent as a right-arm off-spinner, he is considered an all-rounder in his native Bangladesh. Taking into account the fact that he is only 19, he could turn out to be Shakib’s successor.

Since he bats lower down the order for Bangladesh, there is hardly ever any chance for Hasan to properly express his prowess as a batsman but anyone who has watched him bat will attest to the fact that he is a decent wielder the of the willow and can, in the future, turn into a genuine all-rounder.

His 51 against India in the one-off Test earlier this year was an excellent exhibition of his talents as a batsman and also his temperament. When responding to India’s mammoth 687, Bangladesh slumped to 235-6 and Hasan scored an excellent 51 to take his team out of the woods with Mushfiqur Rahim.

He dealt with Ashwin and Jadeja superbly and hit 10 fours in his innings to bring up, hopefully, the first of many Test fifties.

#5 He represents the future of Bangladesh cricket

Mehidy (r) could be Shakib's successor

Bangladesh are now a hugely improved side with a steady stream of talented players coming through the ranks, however, Mehidy Hasan looks like the player who could end up being the future of Bangladesh cricket. Shakib Al Hasan has been Bangladesh’s best cricketer for close to a decade now and Hasan looks like the player who could take over the mantle of being the team’s star all-rounder when Shakib eventually retires.

Shakib is 30 years old and after perhaps another five seasons, might hang up his boots. By that time, Mehidy would be 24 and at the breakout point as a cricketer. If all goes well, then he is perfectly placed to be the future of the Bangladesh team. Hard not to be excited about such a cricketer, isn’t it?