'Nice to play against elder brothers'

There were high hopes when young Mehedi Hasan Miraz was named captain of Rajshahi Kings for the sixth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) as it would be a huge platform to prepare himself for future leadership opportunities.

The 21-year-old had led Bangladesh to a maiden semifinal finish in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2016.

For Mehedi, who often credits his Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza whenever he has a good time in the international circuit, yesterday was a special occasion for the off-spinner as he managed to beat his idol Mashrafe's Rangpur Riders by five runs in a thriller.

"Obviously, it feels good and we all know he is our elder brother and Rangpur is the defending champion. It feels good to beat a team like Rangpur as we have a young side. It feels good to play against the elder brothers and as you saw, despite losing the game everyone came and congratulated me and supported me. There will be competitiveness on the field but off the field we share a great relationship," Mehedi said in the post-match press conference in Mirpur yesterday.

Talking about his captaincy, Mehedi informed that despite facing problems initially, he has gradually started to adapt to the role.

"I am improving day by day as I am doing the captaincy for the first time in three years, since the Under-19 World Cup. But since then there was a gap and I struggled a bit initially. But gradually my brain has started to work accordingly and it will improve the more I play," he said.

Despite being on the losing side Mashrafe did not forget to praise Mehedi's leadership skills.

"Obviously it's very good for him [Mehedi]. The more he can learn from here, the more it will help him in international cricket. It's not just for captaincy in the international circuit; it is important for him to acquire leadership qualities from here. The earlier he adapts to it, the better it will be for him. Obviously it's a good thing for Mehedi to lead in the BPL," Mashrafe said.