Hridoy puts team needs ahead of batting position

Rangpur Riders batter Towhid Hridoy scored his second century of the Bashundhara Cement Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Sunday and led his side to victory over Noakhali Express at the Mirpur Sher-e Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Focusing on the team management’s preference, the newly appointed opener became the highest run-scorer of this tournament.

Speaking to the media, the right-hand batsman opened up about his experience batting as an opener and said it provides a chance to score big innings.

“Yes, batting in the top order gives a chance to play a bigger innings,” he said. “While in the middle or lower order, you focus on impactful innings of 25–30–40–50 runs, contributing as much as possible.”

Hridoy previously played in the middle order for the sixth time and made 106 runs. After being promoted as an opener, he played four innings and scored 272 runs in the BPL.

“As a professional, you should be used to playing in different positions and know how to adapt. Even top players do this in T20, often moving up and down the order. When the team gives me an opportunity and asks me to bat wherever needed, I say I have no problem with that. Mentally, I’m ready to try and contribute to the team wherever I am sent,” Hridoy also added.

While being asked about his batting position in the national team, the 25-year-old batter took a team-first approach,

“To be honest, as a player, I feel ready to contribute wherever the opportunity comes, wherever the team demands. At the end of the day, it’s a team game, not just my game. If this was just my own game, I’d ask to bat at the top. But in a team game, I try to serve the team wherever needed and contribute as much as I can.”

He revealed that discussions with the national team management indicate a middle-order role at the upcoming T20 World Cup.

“The team hasn’t sent me any strict message. They told me that in the World Cup, I’ll probably bat in the middle if everything goes as planned, Insha’Allah. They said playing in the middle will be good practice because it’s slightly different. Batting in the middle isn’t easy. But as I’ve said before, even impactful innings of 50 are counted as important when played in the middle. That’s what I tried to do. I started cautiously with three or four balls, and then the team decided I should move up. That was the team’s decision,” he concluded.