Mominul on verge of joining Australian club cricket, credits Hathurusingha for growth

Bangladesh batsman Mominul Haque revealed on Tuesday that he is close to securing an opportunity to play competitive club cricket in Australia, a move he believes will enhance his development as a batter. 

The left-handed batsman told Daily Sun that his trip is expected in the first week of December, crediting former national head coach Chandika Hathurusingha for facilitating the opportunity.

“Yes, there's a chance to go [to Australia to play competitive cricket]. It's pretty much confirmed, 80-90% confirmed. Once the ticket is done, then I can fully confirm it,” Mominul said.

“There's a chance to play for one of their clubs called Bankstown Cricket Club, and our former head coach Hathu [Chandika Hathurusingha] is helping me in this regard,” he added.

Mominul said he hopes to be available for the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), but insisted that the experience of playing in Australia will certainly help him grow as a batsman.

“I will hopefully be available for BPL if I am picked, but at the same time, I will surely grow as a batter by taking part in competitive cricket in Australia,” he said.

The 29-year-old, who impressed with three consecutive half-centuries in the recently concluded Test series against Ireland, credited his one-on-one sessions with Hathurusingha in Sydney earlier this year for improving his game.

“When I went to Hathurusingha, my mental preparation was different. At that time, perhaps I knew less about many things,” Mominul explained when asked about the areas he worked on with the former head coach.

“There might also be the question of why I didn’t do these things when he was in Bangladesh. Actually, when he was here, he couldn’t give me much time,” he added.

“The work I did with him was long-term and one-on-one. I always believe that one-on-one work significantly improves batters. After going to him, my mental preparation improved a lot.”

Mominul described mental preparation as thinking clearly about what you want to do before performing any task.

“For example, if you are interviewing me today, you’re thinking about it, aren’t you? If I go to practice tomorrow, I am thinking about what I’ll practise. This thought comes first, then you go and practise. Hathurusingha taught me how to do that mental preparation and, based on that, how to practise with situation-based scenarios.”

“Mental preparation means identifying my weaknesses first—what areas I need to improve so my batting becomes even better. These mental preparations, along with field preparation including creating specific situations and practising how to bat in them, made me practice there,” he added.

“This was a package of mental and situation-based preparation. You have a good base prepared beforehand for how you will practise. It is not like a net session where you just go and hit, as we used to do earlier, and many still do,” he said.

“I am much better now as far as my batting is concerned.”

During the Ireland series, Mominul maintained communication with Hathurusingha whenever he encountered issues or questions.

“We have communication such that if I don’t understand something or have a problem, I reach out to him,” Mominul said.

“Hathurusingha watched my batting during the Ireland series. Normally, he doesn’t comment much on batting during games—even during his tenure, he wouldn’t comment much while the game was ongoing. He would only say something when I asked him after the game was over. Now, when I ask, he gives me feedback.”

“He always believes one thing about me—that as a player, I like to bat for a long time. His only concern is that in the initial stage, I should bat with focus for 20-30 balls. He used to say, ‘Once a batsman plays 15-20-30 balls, there’s nothing else to worry about. Those balls are the danger zone. After that, once set, the batsman can play comfortably.’”

Mominul expressed no regrets over narrowly missing out on two well-deserved centuries, prioritising session-by-session batting over personal milestones.

“Overall, Alhamdulillah [as far as the Test series is concerned]. If I could have scored two centuries, it would have been even better,” he said.

“I think it happens in careers that sometimes you get dismissed just short of hundreds. It happens. I don’t regret it because, as a batter, my goal is to play session by session. That’s what I think about.”

He also praised the pitch preparation at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, highlighting it as the best wicket he has batted on at Mirpur.

“Among all the innings I’ve played at Mirpur, I think this was the best wicket in Test matches,” he said.

“On previous wickets, whether playing on spin or pace, we were unsure if the ball would turn sharply or keep low. That uncertainty was greater before. But on this wicket, even on the fifth day, all batters could bat with trust. Even a team like Ireland, which plays fewer Tests, batted comfortably. They could defend or take singles as they wished.”

Mominul explained why he considered it a fair wicket, challenging for bowlers but good for batsmen.

“When bowlers have to work hard to take wickets, spinners and pace bowlers have to use their brains. Previous wickets at Mirpur were such that if you bowled, you’d get wickets easily, which wasn’t very good for our bowlers.”

“So, I think this wicket was good for batsmen, and very hard-working for bowlers. It was a true wicket with good bounce for both spin and pace,” he concluded.