BAN vs ZIM | Decision to put down gloves has worked for me, claims Mushfiqur Rahim
Mushfiqur Rahim has stated that the decision to put down the gloves has been beneficial for him as he brought up his third double century against Zimbabawe in Dhaka. Not so long ago, Rahim was adamant to give up his keeping duties in Test cricket despite criticism about his glovework.
Following the arrival of Russell Domingo, Mushfiqur Rahim's decision to put down the gloves has worked beneficial for his and team's cause. In Dhaka on Monday, the 32-year-old slammed his third double century and became the highest run-getter for his country and put his side on the brink of victory thanks to his marathon effort.
Not so long ago, the star batsman was adamant to give up his keeping duties in Test cricket despite criticism about his glovework. In fact, the team management had to step in and ask him to play as a specialist batsman, which Rahim agreed to but not full-heartedly. It was only in October 2019 that Rahim decided to relinquish keeping and play as only as a batsman to prolong his career.
The 32-year-old has now revealed that the decision to give up the gloves has worked in his favor, but admitted that the decision was a difficult one to take.
"It was a difficult decision to make, of course. Playing only as a batsman is always pressure. But at the same time, I can say that the decision is helping me in my batting which can benefit me more in the future. I think that I should admit the reality. I am also getting aged. I think this is the right time I should concentrate on a different thing,” said Rahim, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
"I can be relaxed while fielding and can focus more on my batting. Overall it is going well for me and I hope that I will continue the same. There were some times I batted really well despite doing wicketkeeping. Still I feel that wicketkeeping helps me a lot while I bat. There were some times I batted really well despite doing wicketkeeping."
Rahim kept wickets for Bangladesh in 55 tests where he scored in excess of 3500 runs at an average of 37 with six hundreds and 16 half-centuries to his credit. But in the 14 Tests prior to the one-off encounter against Zimbabwe in which he played as a non-wicketkeeper, Rahim didn't really have great numbers - an average of 27.80 with no hundreds.
The right-hander scored two half-centuries against a challenging pace attack in the two Tests against India, which might have given him a lot of confidence in his new role. But the former skipper admitted that he still misses the feeling of being behind the stumps.
“Still I feel that wicketkeeping helps me a lot while I bat. I still take information from Liton or from slip what is going in the field. These are two different things. When I field, I can be more relaxed and you can say that the reflection is seen in my batting. But I still miss wicketkeeping and I respect what the team decided about me and I want to contribute maximum,” he added.
