Mehedi’s ‘Five-Month’ Regret

Mehedi Hasan has long carried the same frustration. He is only selected for one format in international cricket, and he has little choice but to accept it. Due to team combinations, he rarely gets opportunities in ODIs and Tests. As a result, he mainly features in the T20 side, which has led to long gaps in his international appearances. His last international match came five months ago. On Tuesday, Mehedi once again expressed that disappointment.

Mehedi Hasan Miraz shares a similar role as an off-spinning all-rounder, making it difficult for both players to feature in the same XI. While their roles are similar, their styles differ. Miraz bowls slower, flighted off-spin in a more traditional style. Mehedi, on the other hand, bowls with more pace, allowing him to use variations like yorkers more effectively, which works well in T20 cricket. He also scores runs at a faster rate compared to Miraz, making him more suited to the shortest format. However, in the 50-over format, team management prefers the opposite.

As a result, Mehedi has played more T20 internationals than Miraz. He has featured in 71 T20 matches but only 11 ODIs. Between 2021 and 2023, Miraz was not selected in the ODI squad, while Mehedi remained a regular choice. However, he has not played an ODI since November 2023.

Losing his ODI spot has reduced Mehedi’s overall involvement in the national team. Missing the 2026 World Cup has further pushed him away from regular international cricket.

Before the first match of the series against New Zealand, Mehedi’s last T20 appearance came against Ireland in December last year. His most recent competitive match was three months ago in a three-team series organized by the Bangladesh Cricket Board for national players after the World Cup absence.

Returning to international cricket after a long break is never easy. Although he managed to perform well against New Zealand, Mehedi admitted his frustration. “It was difficult for me to perform well. My last international match was five months ago, and my last competitive match was three months ago. In between, I only had training sessions. It is hard to deliver immediately in matches from such a situation. Still, I am happy that I could contribute with the ball at the end for the team,” he said.