The Bangladesh players sat under two large umbrellas moments after they completed their 2-0 Test series win against Pakistan in Sylhet. It was a calm scene shortly after the exhilarating moments of the fifth morning of the second Test; they chatted quietly, soaking in their collective success. Sitting on top of an ice box, appropriately, was Mominul Haque, Bangladesh's iceman.
There were barely a hundred people at the stadium for the trophy presentation, but the Bangladesh team made enough noise for themselves. Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam took every request for photos, while their captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, enjoyed his time on a motorcycle he had just won.
Mominul attracted little attention. He shook some hands, smiled at a few faces he recognised, and slipped into the dressing room. That's how it has been for him for 13 years. Once the on-field work is done, he usually slips into the background. But he deserves to be noticed.
He is Bangladesh's most prolific scorer at No. 3.
Mominul took over the Test captaincy at arguably the worst moment in the team's history. He led them to their most miraculous win, in Mount Maunganui. He left the captaincy in the most graceful manner too.
He has now transitioned to being a batting stalwart and the captain's confidant. He is the most regular among Bangladesh's top Test cricketers in the domestic first-class tournaments. Off the field, he has mentored many batters across the country.
He is also one of the most in-form batters in the team. His two fifties in the first Test against Pakistan, in Dhaka, made him only the second Bangladesh batter to get five consecutive fifties in Test innings. Mominul's biggest contribution in the Pakistan series was the stability he presented in his two century stands with Shanto, who took the counterattacking role. Bangladesh lost early wickets in both innings of the first Test, but Shanto went after the opposition bowlers, and Mominul's restraint kept things stable at the other end.
That resulted in Bangladesh's batters from Nos. 3 to 6 comfortably outscoring Pakistan's, with 923 runs against Pakistan's 549, which made the difference in the scoreline.
"The runs have definitely made the difference," Mominul said when told of this stat. "From what we have seen in Test cricket, sides that dominate in these areas of a match, they end up dominating the opposition, and more often than not, they win the Test series. Our next challenge will be to bat in this dominant manner on a regular basis."
Mominul's own form has contributed to Bangladesh's batting success in their last couple of Test series. His recent run of consistent scoring is a throwback to the start of his career, when he made over 50 in 11 consecutive Tests. He attributes it to the mindset he has developed.
"I believe that the runs come because of how I prepare my mentality. I think when you know how to score runs, the process and game plan that works for you, when you have made everything part of your process, things become slightly easier. I wouldn't say that it is easy on every occasion you go out to bat; you face different situations and conditions. But the knowledge you have about your own game increases the probability of you doing well in the middle.
"I am taking on challenges against the red ball, especially in the way I start my innings. There will be times when I have to hold my shots due to the circumstances. Then I know that a period will come when I can flourish. I think I understand these things better now. Once you accept that you can improve every day, you will keep getting better," he said.
In a career that has seen many highs, one of his lowest points was stepping down from the Test captaincy in 2022, six months after he led the team to the historic win in New Zealand, but it helped him focus on his performance.
"I wasn't enjoying cricket as much during that time [of captaincy]. I still have some responsibility as a senior player right now, but the enjoyment factor is really high these days. I have more chance of performing when I am enjoying what I am doing. I feel free. I can relax more. I can control much of my game," he said.
Does Mominul's current form mean that he is a middle-order candidate for ODIs? With age still on his side, it seems like a logical call-up, but Bangladesh's selectors haven't picked him in white-ball cricket in the last eight years. It makes little sense to limit his talent and skills to Tests, especially given how the ODI middle order has struggled in the last three years. The management approached veteran Mushfiqur Rahim for a possible return to the ODI side, but he turned them down.
Mominul says that he is prepared for a call-up. "If the opportunity arises, I definitely want to play ODIs. I regularly play in the Dhaka Premier League. I want to continue playing in the format. I don't think there are a lot of technical changes required to go from Tests to ODIs. A shift in mindset is all you need. There's definitely similarities between how you approach a Test and ODI innings. Those who bat against the new white ball, they play the first 20-30 balls like they do in red-ball cricket," he said.
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Mominul's understanding of his own game and what works in Bangladesh cricket, and his affable nature, have made him a valuable addition to the team's set-up. His relationship with Mushfiqur and Najmul Hossain Shanto has helped rebuild Bangladesh's top- and middle order in the Test side.
It has contributed to the overall stability of the team too, at a volatile time of transition, particularly after the likes of Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza have faded away from playing at the highest level. Mominul and Mushfiqur are the side's senior-most veterans currently, and Mominul insists there's no competition between them, and that instead, they're both setting standards for the players who will take their places.
"Rather than competing with each other, I think we wish that the other person gets to score a century. Mushfiq bhai and I are the top two century-makers for Bangladesh, but look at how Shanto is going. I am pretty sure he will need fewer matches to score more centuries than us," he said. Mominul believes that Shanto isn't just going to score runs but also lead Bangladesh into a more prosperous future.
"There's a difference between a captain and a leader. Bangladesh needs a good leader, and I think Shanto is that. Mashrafe bhai was a good leader, which is why he found a lot of success in ODIs. Shanto has that leadership quality. He has good man-management skills. He knows how to manage each individual," he said.
He also rates Litton Das as one of the driving forces in the team. "Litton is an outstanding wicketkeeper - one of the best keepers in the world. I always saw Litton as an improving cricketer. I think he always does better when he is batting with a higher strike rate. Maybe till a few years ago, he didn't know when to accelerate but those who bat in his position, at No. 6 or 7, need to have a good strike rate," Mominul said.
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Apart from his batting and leadership role within the team, Mominul has, in recent years, made another significant contribution. When pace bowling seemed all but dead and buried in the country around 2018, he took it upon himself to help revive it.
"Before the pandemic, I used to pick three or four fast bowlers in the Chattogram Division side almost regularly. Then I became the Bangladesh captain. We [have] won more Tests at home, so I thought we should start winning abroad [as well]. Spinners don't get much help on pitches overseas, so to win abroad we needed an improved fast-bowling attack.
"If they [fast bowlers] get better and lead the bowling attack, I thought we would have more chances of winning Tests abroad. I knew I couldn't make sweeping changes overnight, neither was I expecting Test wins from my first tour as captain. I wanted to push overseas Tests to the fifth day. We used to lose those matches on the third or fourth day previously," he said.
Mominul wanted fast bowling to grow holistically, so he planted the seed in the domestic first-class competition, the National Cricket League. He used his time as Chattogram Division and East Zone captain to bring about a shift in bowling culture.
"I started off by experimenting with three or four fast bowlers in the playing XI whenever we played on a flat wicket. Many of our batters in domestic cricket aren't as fluent against fast bowling, so I thought it could improve batting against fast bowling, while also giving the bowlers more playing time," he said.
Mominul believes that it's game time, rather than training, that helps a bowler grow. "A fast bowler usually does well by bowling ten or 15 overs in match conditions where he is facing a number of [different] circumstances, rather than bowling in the nets. After my experiment worked in the NCL, I asked the Bangladesh team management to use two or three fast bowlers in the Test playing XI.
"At that time I didn't want to get a result instantly out of the fast bowlers. I wanted to leave a culture that would make life easier for future fast bowlers. You won't be able to improve as a team if you don't play fast bowlers in the line-up.
"You will see better teams always have fast bowlers who have played 50-60 Tests. I made sure that we had fast bowlers around even if they were not taking wickets then. Ebadot [Hossain] took the six-wicket haul in Mount Maunganui, so I knew that in a year or two, they will start giving us results. Which is happening now," he said.
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Bangladesh winning the Test series against Pakistan wasn't just about on-field performance. From the preparation, which began a few months beforehand, to the execution, right throught to the fifth morning in Sylhet, it is now a blueprint of success for Bangladesh's Test set-up.
"We didn't go into the Pakistan series with a lot of expectations but we had a very good preparation phase," Mominul said. "The training over the last two or three months was worth it. The preparation ensured this performance. Without this type of preparation, you have fewer chances of better results on-field.
"It also takes a lot of people to get such a Test series win. The way our cricket board, especially the operations department and all the managers, ensured [we got] months of preparation, we have to give them due credit. All our coaches, including those in the high-performance unit, have really worked hard to get us prepared for this series. Now we have to do this in overseas conditions."
He also feels that Bangladesh are now reaping the advantages of having experienced cricketers in the set-up.
"Our experience really gives us an edge. Many of us have played more than 50 Tests. We clicked exactly where we needed to click. [Mehidy Hasan] Miraz got a five-wicket haul on a grassy pitch. A spinner bowling well on a grassy pitch, that doesn't happen often. Nahid Rana doesn't take wickets in every spell, but when the team needed him the most, he took four wickets in one spell in Dhaka.
"In the second Test, Rana suddenly took two wickets. On the fifth morning in Sylhet, we needed to remove [Mohammad] Rizwan. Shoriful [Islam] came in, did the job. See how Litton got us back in the game on the first day in Sylhet. We lost six wickets quickly, but there he was, playing a magnificent innings. Taijul and Shoriful supported him," he said.
The series win against Pakistan is the breakthrough Bangladesh needed in 2026, before Test tours to Australia and South Africa later this year. Mominul has no plans for the side to rest on their laurels. "It was a complete team performance against Pakistan, but we are also a side that is hungry to do better," he said.