We have to look after Mustafizur: Heath Streak

Having done the hard yard with a prodigious talent, Heath Streak could afford to smile. His ward had, afterall, bowled Bangladesh to a historic bilateral series win over India. From a nation that seemed content on producing an array of spinners, bowling coach Streak had succeeded in unearthing a raw seam bowler in Mustafizur Rahman. The 19-year old left-arm pacer, with 11 wickets in two games, is now the toast of a nation that has waited long for success of this magnitude.

Streak though, opined that the youngster would have to be handled carefully so that he could replicate his success for an extended period. "He (Mustafizur) is still very young. We have to be careful. He has taken 11 wickets but we can't expect him to take five wickets every time," Streak said. "He has shown his potential. If we look after him and support him, he will be a big match-winner for us. When Mashrafe started, he was looked after throughout his career. We have to make sure to have the system to support not just the young players, but the old players as well. Everyone has a role to play," he said.

The former Zimbabwe captain also had words of praise for the efforts of Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain, whose performances, he felt, had been underrated and added that the ultimate credit for the series win should go to every player. "I am very happy. Obviously Mustafizur was outstanding. To do that in two games and get a record like that was something special. We are happy as a coaching unit but congratulations must go to the players. Since the Zimbabwe series and the World Cup, we have seen this team grow from strength to strength," Streak said.

Streak said the team now believe they can go on to win more consistently but added that the coaching staff won't let them get complacent or ahead of themselves. "Since the World Cup we have seen a different team," Streak said. "They are confident and now believe that they can win more consistently. They have shown some really good fight in this series. When I saw the passion of what it means to the guys, it reminded me of the time when we (Zimbabwe) beat India. It is massive in the cricket world."

"I don't see them becoming complacent any more. Certainly from the coaching staff, we won't allow that from happening. They are hungry for more success. They are enjoying the victories and proud to represent Bangladesh."

Streak also revealed that playing a four-prong pace attack was a planned strategy to catch the Indians off guard. "I work closely with the head coach and we thought the Mirpur wicket does help the seamers," he said. "We have a good group of fast bowlers and we felt India wouldn't expect that (playing four seamers). We knew that the conditions, if we could prepare pitches to suit our style of bowling, would play into our hands."