A Hint of MS Dhoni in Mahmudullah’s Captaincy: Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan feels Mahmudullah's captaincy has shades of Dhoni after Bangladesh won a closely fought first T20I against India.

Irfan Pathan has drawn comparisons between former India captain MS Dhoni and current Bangladesh T20I skipper Mahmudullah in the way they approach their leadership.

Pathan was the man-of-the-match at the inaugural ICC World T20 final that India won under Dhoni’s captaincy.

The allrounder feels Mahmudullah’s captaincy has shades of Dhoni after Bangladesh won a closely fought first T20I against the hosts in Delhi.

“When you win a match against one of the best teams in the world, it helps in boosting your confidence and Mahmudullah had shown great qualities of a captain including the changes he made during the match,” Pathan said on Star Sports. “There was a hint of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his captaincy as he also used part-time bowlers after the power play which is a strategy often used by Dhoni.”

It was Bangladesh’s maiden victory over India in the format and it certainly would have boosted their confidence since they are missing the veteran duo of Shakib-Al-Hasan (banned for two years) and Tamim Iqbal (resting) on the tour. India, though, drew parity in the three-match series, winning the second fixture in Rajkot thanks to a blistering innings from their captain Rohit Sharma.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim hit an unbeaten fifty in the series opener to set up the historic win for Bangladesh but was dismissed cheaply in the following match. Offspinner Harbhajan Singh feels Mushfiqur will again be the key for the tourists if they hope to win the series on Sunday.

“Mushfiqur Rahim is a player with lot of experience, his ability to play both spin and pace bowling is great and he has the maximum responsibility in the Bangladesh squad in terms of batting which gives him an edge over Mahmudullah, who is also a good player for the Bangladesh team,” Harbhajan said.