Jamal Bhuiyan, the most-capped player in Bangladesh’s history, is slowly becoming a peripheral figure in the team despite being the captain. He has not made it to the playing Xi only three times in his 82-match international career, the latest of which came in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers against India. With Sheffield United’s Hamza Chowdhury joining the Bangladesh midfield, questions are rising whether the 35-year-old captain’s time with the Red and Greens is coming to an end. To know his views on this issue and his overall plans in football, The Daily Star’s Anisur Rahman and Atique Anam caught up with the Denmark-born midfielder. Following are the excerpts of the interview.

The Daily Star (DS): You were the first foreign-based footballer to represent Bangladesh 12 years ago. Now players like Hamza Choudhury are following your footsteps. How proud do you feel when you realise this?

Jamal Bhuiyan (JB): Of course, I feel proud that Hamza also came here to represent Bangladesh following my footsteps. Even when Tariq [Kazi] made debut for Bangladesh, I told him that I felt proud for him. Besides, I kept communicating with Tariq because he had a bit of problem in his first season in Bangladesh. Now, Hamza playing for Bangladesh is a positive thing because Hamza is two/three levels above us and I think it is also inspiration for me.

DS: How much impact, do you think, has the arrival of Hamza had on the confidence and environment of the team’s dressing room?

JB: Dressing room has been the same, there is no change because a person can’t change another person but the confidence level, what I have seen, has raised to 90 percent from 50 percent.

DS: How has been your experience with Hamza so far?

JB: Hamza is a very humble person who doesn’t talk much and he is a very quiet person. After coming back to Bangladesh from India, Hamza and his family visited my home in Dhaka and next day he left for England and I went to Denmark.

DS: Do you feel, in any way, that your position has come under threat due to Hamza’s presence?

JB: If you look back, under Javier Cabrera I have never played in the position where Hamza played against India. Instead I played as a right midfielder, or a left midfielder or in No. 10 position. However, I have played many times previously in the position Hamza and Mohammad Ridoy are playing now. So, I don’t think my position is under threat.

DS: You went to Shillong as the captain and faced the media before the game. But it came as a shock to many when they didn’t see you in the starting XI or as a substitute. How did you take it?

JB: Of course, I was much disappointed because I wanted to play the game as a footballer. I think it is the same feeling for every footballer who doesn’t get the opportunity to play a game. So my condition was the same and I was disappointed. I thought it was the worst India team that I had seen in the last seven or eight years and we should have won the match.

DS: Did the coach or any member of the coaching staff communicate to you before the game that you wouldn’t start the match?

JB: No. No one communicated with me before the match. After the match, the coach only told me that I was not fielded for the good of the team. That one sentence was all from the coach.

DS: You haven’t played 90 minutes of football for Bangladesh for some time. Have you had any understanding with the coach regarding how much you want to play?

JB: The coach decides what he wants to do, but of course I want to play as much as possible, that is no secret.

DS: You missed the first half of the domestic season due to some misunderstanding with Abahani. How did you keep yourself motivated during this time? What was your routine and how did you keep yourself fit?

JB: I kept playing in Denmark with a club. To be honest, I leave all other thoughts out of my mind when I play football. So, it was easy for me to concentrate on football. I had regular gym sessions in the morning and practised with football in the afternoon sessions.

DS: What are your expectations from the rest of the games in the qualifying campaign in the Asian Cup Qualifiers?

JB: Our next two vital matches will be played at home. If we can secure full points, it will be good for us. I hope we can qualify and that is also the aim, the teams in the group are very similar when we talk about level.

DS: After the 2023 SAFF Championship campaign, Javier Cabrera had said that that should be our standard. Do you think Bangladesh can maintain the standard they set in the 2023 SAFF Championship?

JB: The teams we met in our World Cup Qualifiers are stronger than the teams we will play in the Asian qualifier (SAFF) and that’s a fact.