Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, colleagues since their age-group days, had just had the greatest moment of their careers - a 2-0 Test series win in Pakistan. For Shanto, the captain, it goes right to the top on his CV. For Mehidy, too, with "Player of the Series" in big, bold letters. They spoke to ESPNcricinfo soon after…
Mehidy, you have won Player of the Series against England and now this one against Pakistan. Which one is bigger?
Shanto and Mehidy look at each other and laugh
Mehidy: Dost [friend], you tell him. What do I say? I'm confused.
Shanto: I was the captain in this series, so this one is better.
How would you rate Mehidy's performance in the second Test?
Shanto: He was just brilliant. The way he bowled on the first day on this wicket - a spinner taking five wickets, it was unbelievable. It was something else.
And how about his batting?
Shanto: We were 26 for 6. He comes up to me and says, 'dost, this happens to our team all the time; Litton [Das] and I are there'. That's all he said. He said it with all seriousness.
Your turn, Mehidy - you have had quite a few clutch performances already…
Mehidy: To be honest with you, I try hard. Allah helps me. If a person tries something and works hard for it, he's going to be successful. You mentioned the two Player-of-the-Series awards - these two are huge moments in my life. I can't choose one, both are big achievements. That was my debut Test series against England. It was our first Test win against them. This is my first Player of the Series on foreign soil. I never expected that I would contribute with bat and ball. So both are special for me.
What do you tell yourself when the team is in trouble?
Mehidy: I try to be calm. I try not to be too excited. I try to remember good memories from the past. Whoever I bat with, I try to diffuse the tension. I will joke with the batter at the other end. When I joined Litton at 26 for 6, I was joking with him. I asked him if he remembered how nervous we were when we opened the batting in the final of the Asia Cup [in 2018]. He joined in, he started to joke with me too. This is how we got rid of the nervousness.
When the momentum came back, we started to discuss how to turn things around. We wanted to take the team to a good position. We had a very good partnership [of 165 runs]. I am thankful to Allah, he keeps me calm and cool even in these moments.
Former Bangladesh captain on the team's 2-0 series win over Pakistan
Shanto, which was your favourite Mehidy performance in this series?
Shanto: Batting. Both knocks [77 in the first Test and 78 in the second]. I would say it was 49-51 [between his batting and bowling performances].
We always thought Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam and Mehidy only take wickets at home…
Mehidy: Now you can say that we take wickets abroad too. To be honest, you cannot make a Test player in one or two days. You have to give him time. You have to allow him to do well. It takes time for him to settle into a role and dominate in world cricket. The more time he gets, the better he will be.
Maybe my home performances gave me a certain kind of mindset, but now that I am bowling well abroad, I will have this as a reference point to do well in the future. It raises your confidence for the next big series abroad. Confidence comes from records and references. I have both now. I will be more confident next time.