I was not mentally prepared to bat at four – Mohammad Naim

BANGLADESH TOUR OF SRI LANKA, 2025

Naim scored an unbeaten 32 from 29 and was dropped for the next game [File photo] © AFP

Bangladesh batter Mohammad Naim Sheikh has claimed that he was not mentally ready to bat at number four in the opening game of the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka .

Naim, who returned to the national set-up after a gap of two years during the white-ball series against Sri Lanka on the back of solid domestic performance, failed to make the cut in any of the three ODIs.

The left-handed opener was picked in the first T20Is against Sri Lanka and was demoted down to number four as Jaker Ali was unavailable due to injury.

Naim, who was dropped after the opening game, made an unbeaten 32 from 29 balls after coming in at number four and struggled at his new batting position.

“To be honest, look, you all know that Jaker was injured, and that’s why I had to play at No. 4. I was supposed to bat at No. 5. After discussing with the coach, I played at No. 4 because of Jaker’s injury,” Naim told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium after completing his individual training session on Friday.

“Normally, I wasn’t even supposed to play. So mentally, if I had known earlier that such an opportunity would come… to be honest, I wasn’t mentally prepared for that (to bat at four),” he said.

“I’m always prepared to open the innings. Even now, the individual training I did is all about how I’ll open, how I’ll utilize the opportunity if it comes and that’s what I’ve been preparing from,” he said.

“Next time, if such an opportunity comes (to bat at four) it will definitely be on my mind,” he said.

“All the time, as long as I’ve played, I’ve batted as an opener. So, I completed my training with that mentality. But at the back of my mind, it’s always there that I might have to bat in the middle. It’s not like I don’t bat in the middle if I’m set. But if I’m suddenly sent to bat in the middle, how to bat there, what the middle-order players usually struggle with – those things I normally don’t know. Often it seems easy from outside. But after playing there, it was a new experience. That spot is a totally different zone,” he said.

Naim said that he is not ready to share team secrets but added that till now there are no talks of him batting in the middle-order during the upcoming home series against Pakistan, who are slated to play three T20Is respectively on July 20, 22 and 24 at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

“To be honest, this was my personal training. When there’s a conversation about the team like that (where I should bat) it should stay within the team,” said Naim.

“I haven’t came here with the [thoughts] about anything like that (to prepare for batting in the middle-order) and as I needed my own individual training and that’s why I came to train,” he said.

© Cricbuzz