India, on Monday, defeated Bangladesh by 208 runs to win the Hyderabad Test and captain Mushfiqur Rahim feels had a player of Virat Kohli’s caliber been there in the side, the Tigers would have at least drawn the match.
‘Unfortunately, we don’t have a Virat Kohli in our team.’
Expressing disappointment over his side’s failed attempt to seal their first Test match on Indian soil, Rahim was sarcastic in admitting owing the basic technique Virat Kohli’s possesses, any batsman can average above 50 across all formats.
Both the skippers played instrumental knocks, as one scored a double hundred while the other showed great heart to avoid a follow-on with a gritty century.
“If you had basic technique like Virat Kohli (has), then you would have scored at an average of 50 plus in Test matches. Then you won’t be needing even seven batsmen on the final day to save a match. Four would have been enough for a draw.”
After the hosts registered their sixth consecutive Test series win, reports emerged that Rahim might step down from the captaincy post. However, speaking to the media, the captained shut all speculations, saying he averages good in the longer format and has been in some good form lately too, so there is not point of him resigning from captaincy.
He further said had he not been performing well, the selectors are anyway watching him and are the right people to make a call on it.
“My average is not more than 34 or 33. So, how can I be No. 1 batsman of Bangladesh. If you are entrusted with 2 or 3 roles, that means management has shown faith in you. So I need to deliver in all three departments really well. If I am not doing well, that’s up to the board to take a call on my future.”
He then added:
“At the moment, I am enjoying what I am doing as I love to spend time in the middle. The way you can do your job is to spend time in the middle rather than dressing room. There are people, who are sitting outside (BCB officials), they can take a decision but as far as I am concerned, I am happy to do all three.”