Consistent Mominul revels in quiet space

If you see the twinkle in his eye you can imagine a youthful Mominul Haque jumping to get on top of the bounce of the taped tennis ball and square-cutting it to a distant spot on the sands of his hometown Cox's Bazar.

The square-cut is Mominul's favorite shot, and since he learned it before joining his alma mater, the sports institute BKSP, you can call it his native shot.

"Well, [my favorite shot] changes from time to time but I think it is the square-cut now," Mominul tells ESPNcricinfo. "I like playing that shot. I used to play that shot quite well when I used to play with a taped tennis ball in Cox's Bazar. I think that's why I still have that shot."

Mominul's life has traveled a long distance from those childhood days as he heads into the one-off Test against India with a world record just a half-century away.

Watching a batsman in control of his emotions and in tune with his technique is rare in Bangladesh. Mominul is a breath of fresh air as a result, and that air is still relatively unsullied, given he has only played 14 Tests. He has made 50-plus scores in all but one of those Tests, and 11 of them have come in his last 11 Tests. He is level with Viv Richards, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag in achieving this feat and has only AB de Villiers, who made fifties in 12 successive Tests, ahead of him.

When Bangladesh take on India in Fatullah, there will be a certain amount of attention on Mominul's attempt to equal de Villiers' record, but beyond that his work hasn't received enough recognition. It could be because of his nature. He is reticent, to put it mildly. He avoids any extra attention to the point that he has stopped talking about the upcoming Test and particularly the successive-fifties record.

There is a bit of vulnerability about Mominul off the field too, a rarity among performers in the Bangladesh team. Often they strut about like Tigers, imbibing their official moniker, after making a name for themselves in a short span of time. This conceit has led to the downfall of many young talents and Mominul isn't just different - he occupies the opposite end of the spectrum.

Another reason Mominul has had it rough is his lack of playing time in ODIs despite being the team's best Test batsman. Bangladesh don't boast too many batsmen of his ilk, yet the selectors or team management haven't accommodated him in the shorter formats. Question marks about his ability to play the short ball or to bat at a higher tempo have also dogged him.

The first doubt is largely unfounded, and based on personal opinions rather than facts; he has never been dismissed by a bouncer or even a short ball in Test cricket. The second doubt, concerning his strike-rate in ODIs and T20s, can be fixed given enough opportunities.

Even in Test cricket, other issues overshadow Mominul's contributions. His polished second-innings 68 was one of the few bright spots for Bangladesh in their last Test match - a 328-run defeat to Pakistan - and it went almost unnoticed.

Mominul doesn't seem flustered by the lack of attention. "When you do well, you have responsibility towards your team and towards the people of the country," he says. "They expect you to fulfill their hopes. From my position, the responsibility is big.

"When you do well, play well, these things will come. This is how it works. When you do well in any profession, you will get things. It is better to take them normally. It will go away when you play badly. I am not too sad when I do badly and I don't get too happy when I do well. I think I am finding out how [good form] goes and when it comes back."

It hasn't left him yet, not at least in Test cricket where he started with a fifty against Sri Lanka and within a few months scored his maiden century, against New Zealand, in his fifth Test. It was one of those innings, he says, where "everything happens as you want it. Whatever I wanted to do was happening." He hasn't looked back since that game in Chittagong.

It is hard to imagine Mominul having been anything other than reticent in his growing-up years. And if this nature keeps him glued to the ground and helps him score more runs, there should be an effort made to give him the atmosphere and opportunity to stay that way, in his sanctuary of quiet, and runs.