'Play the ball, not the bowler,' Mushtaq says after Rashid wrecks Bangladesh

Bangladesh are focusing on Rashid Khan's reputation and not playing his deliveries on merit, in the opinion of spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed, after Rashid decimated Bangladesh's middle order with 5 for 17 in the second ODI on Saturday to give Afghanistan an 81-run win and with that the series.

It was Rashid's sixth five-wicket haul in ODIs, with only Shahid Afridi now with more five-fors among legspinners in the format. Rashid got into the act when he clean-bowled Towhid Hridoy in the 17th over, before running through the batting with four of the last five wickets in a short burst. Bangladesh were shot out for 109 in response to Afghanistan's 190.

Mushtaq, the former Pakistan legspinner who is now working with the Bangladesh team, said that Rashid's tight line and lengths got him the rewards but it was also the batters that couldn't separate the ball from the bowler.

"I think they are playing Rashid, not the ball," Mushtaq said after the game. "He is not a big spinner of the ball. But he is very experienced. He is a wicket-taker. His line and length is very consistent. I think we have to sometimes play the ball, not the bowler. We have to improve quickly.

"If you have great temperament you can play against any bowler in international cricket. Rashid has been very successful for many, many years for Afghanistan, but [at the] same time as a Bangladeshi batting unit, we should know how to play the ball, not the bowler."

Mushtaq said that Bangladesh's middle-order batters have to be more proactive against the spinners. Bangladesh have averaged 18.70 in the middle overs, compared to Afghanistan's 29.37 in the same period in this ODI series. Both sides have gone at lower than four per over between overs 11 and 40, but while Bangladesh have collapsed against spin, Afghanistan have been more patient.

"I think the ground reality is we have to sort out our batting," Mushtaq said. "They are good players, they can bat. But obviously against spinners like Rashid and all, [who are] very mature and experienced cricketers in those conditions, we have to be very proactive to playing those kind of spinners very quickly.

"I think if we can do that in the middle overs, if we can start playing spin well in those conditions, I believe that Bangladesh can challenge against any team."

Bangladesh batters have been poor in the middle overs this year, where they have averaged 21.86, compared to 35.10 in the two previous calendar years. The 21.86 is also their lowest average in the middle overs since 2007.

Bangladesh have also visibly struggled to shift from the T20I mindset.

"You must have a better technique against spinners in middle overs, how to get singles on good balls. If you can rotate a strike, I think that will put more pressure on bowlers than yourself," Mushtaq said. "I think when you play lots of dot ball, and then you have to play a big shot, that's why you start losing a wicket. Being a spinner [myself], I know that the people who score runs easily, singles and doubles, that puts more pressure on a spinner."

He said that Bangladesh's recent run of winning four bilateral T20I series has given them confidence in that format, but translating that form in ODIs, especially with the bat, hasn't happened.

"I think there is an issue in batting coming from T20s into ODIs," Mushtaq said. "Everything else is clicking. Our fielding standard, fitness, spin and fast bowling are all doing well. Our system is working well. They are playing good cricket. So if we sort out our batting in the 50-over format, that will be great for us. I think it is very, very important that we have to improve a lot in batting."