Mehedi takes on the learning curve

When Mustafizur Rahman was receiving news of his ESPNcricinfo T20 bowling performance award last month, Mehedi Hasan was the only other person present in the BCB academy lobby. Mustafizur, informed that his team-mate had also won an award, joked with Mehedi though nobody at the time informed him of what was to come.

A week later when he saw the debutant of the year trophy, his eyes glazed in happiness. What he said next provided a window into his hungry mindset.

"You know what, I want to win more of these [awards] in the future. I want to keep performing."

It is hard to fault such an ambition. After all, this is why Mehedi is playing for Bangladesh at the highest level. But to reach such heights, he would have to build his performance in every game. While it may be tough to expect him to deliver a 19-wicket haul in every Test series, he can still be expected to become the captain's go-to bowler by adding more ammunition to his bowling.

Many of the England batsmen in his debut series were found out for lack of footwork, which was eagerly exploited by Mehedi, a bowler who doesn't shy away from tossing up the ball up and letting the pitch do the rest of the work. Despite vastly different conditions in New Zealand, he was an automatic pick in the XI and although he took two wickets for 197 runs against India, he didn't lose a lot of confidence and neither did the management lose patience in him.

His problem in Hyderabad - a lack of maiden overs - has continued in Galle, too. Here he bowled only two out of 42 overs, but he finished with six wickets in the game - his best figures since the 12-wicket haul against England in Mirpur in October.

While two of his four wickets in the first innings were skiers, he did lure Kusal Mendis, on 194, and Niroshan Dickwella into false shots. He also got Dimuth Karunaratne to play away from his body and his fourth wicket came when trapping Dilruwan Perera lbw.

In the second innings, he had the misfortune of having three catches dropped off his bowling, by Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar and Mahmudullah, all usually safe fielders. He again had Karunaratne reaching for a delivery but Shakib couldn't hold the drive at cover; Soumya didn't get down quickly enough to catch the edge from Dinesh Chandimal while Mahmudullah's was a tough chance at the deep midwicket boundary.

Still, he managed to pick up two wickets, removing centurion Upul Tharanga with a loopy delivery and Dickwella to a stunning catch by wicketkeeper Liton Das. Despite the situation of the game, Mehedi celebrated properly on both occasions. It looked like he enjoyed getting wickets even though many would say they were soft ones compared to how he bowled on the first day.

The natural next step for Mehedi would be to add a bit more control to his bowling because there have been times in Hyderabad and Galle where he has looked short of options to stop a right-handed batsman from scoring into the leg side continuously. He did improve on his line by bowling less on middle-stump in the second innings, and also had a tight grouping on a fuller length in the pitch-map to left-handers. His work with the pace on the ball will improve as he gets more control of his shoulder and arm.

It has been a tough few months for Mehedi after he had ripped through England in his debut Test series. Life will get harder for him as he strives for excellence in international cricket. But those who have seen him from close quarters know that he is an eager learner, and will not let go of any opportunity to pick the brain of the best spinners in the business.

He already spent some time with R Ashwin after the Hyderabad Test, and it is likely that Mehedi won't think twice about seeking an audience with Rangana Herath during this Test series. It is also likely that someone as sensible as Mehedi will also know what to take from each bowling great, while applying them properly in match situations.