Miraz gets spin tips from India’s Ashwin for ‘long, successful’ career

India’s spin virtuoso Ravichandran Ashwin has encouraged prodigious Bangladesh youngster Mehedi Hasan Miraz to work hard to lay the foundation for a bright future.

Before Bangladesh’s trip to India for the one-off Hyderabad Test, 19-year-old Miraz had said he was keen to seek the talismanic offspinner's counsel.

Having fulfilled his goal before returning to the country on Tuesday, Miraz appeared quite upbeat as he spoke to the reporters at the Shahjalal International Airport.

He said he spoke to Ashwin in India’s dressing room at the end of the match, which Bangladesh lost by 208 runs on the final day.

“Ashwin told me playing with patience is key in longer formats. I asked him about his different deliveries. He gave me some tips and told me how he does what he does,” Miraz said.

“He encouraged me. He said I had the potential to have a long and successful international career and advised me to work really hard.”

Miraz is quite capable of bowling in the right areas with his high arm action, and is keen to add more variations to his spin arsenal.

“I want to add more variety and vary my pace. I spoke to Ashwin about it. He told me to stick to my strengths. His advice was to follow my instincts and bowl in the manner I feel most comfortable in.”

Miraz will soon get the opportunity to test out what he learned when Bangladesh visits Sri Lanka next month.

He bowled eight deliveries to Ashwin, the top-ranked Test allrounder, in the first innings and grabbed his wicket at the expense of two runs.

The young offspinner also showed his abilities as a batsman by scoring a maiden half-century in the first innings. He faced 27 deliveries from the tall Indian spinner, scoring 21 runs off them with the help of five boundaries.