ABDULLAH AL MEHDI, from Chattogram

Players like Shamim Hossain are a rarity in Bangladesh cricket. Batting at number six in T20Is, a position long unsettled in the country’s cricketing culture, he has brought a degree of continuity where no one had been able to hold down the position for long.

At Mirpur Academy Ground last month, ahead of the ongoing New Zealand series, Shamim spent over an hour facing throwdowns. Strangely enough, instead of rehearsing the all-out hitting his role demands, he focused on basics: playing straight in the V. He relayed that it was not only because it was early days in his preparations after a gap.

“Yes [just beginning preparations], but when I will actually bat in matches, this is how I should begin, in a V. Only in the last two-three overs do I experiment with my side shots, so I’m preparing accordingly,” Shamim had told this reporter.

When it was pointed out that it was not the norm for him, he laughed. “I try most of the time because sometimes you have to play slow if early wickets fall… and this routine comes from experience.”

Asked how difficult this adjustment was, he remarked, “Everything is easy if you want [but] it’s a little tough for me. Actually, for those who go and hit, it’s difficult for them. The more control I have, the better it will be for me.”

There were subtle tweaks too. His stance was straighter during that session, his bat coming down more directly rather than from the slip-cordon angle. But he downplayed it: “It just comes from practice… not much of a change.”

In the last two years, Shamim has featured in all 29 T20Is the Tigers played. He has appeared at number six the second-most times (18) over the last five years, surpassing Mahmudullah Riyad, who has 17 appearances in that position. Going down that list, Jaker Ali (18), Afif Hossain (18) and Nurul Hasan Sohan (19) also have a similar number of appearances, and two of those three are out of the T20I side while Sohan is still looking for game time. In this bunch, Shamim boasts the highest strike-rate, 135.44.

The reason Shamim needed these routines was to find more continuity. In his last 10 innings, Shamim only faced more than 20 deliveries thrice and fewer than 10 on five occasions. Yet the demand remains for immediate impact, as seen in the first T20I in Chattogram where his 13-ball 31 contributed to a convincing six-wicket win.

“I adjust my stance myself, what feels comfortable… not because of the bowler,” he said, citing South Africa great AB de Villiers as an influence for his straighter setup. Asked if he stands at an angle when playing behind the wicket, he said: “Yes, that’s when I can do that.”

The bouncer he dispatched over the wicket-keeper’s head for six in the first T20I came from the angular stance, in just the third delivery he faced -- a rare trait in Bangladesh cricket for a volatile position.

“We don’t have many players for this position,” chief selector Habibul Bashar told The Daily Star yesterday. “It can decide games… those batting here must go at 130–140 strike-rate. It’s the reality, and the batters have to accept that.

“A day would come when, in a One-Day [Internationals], there is lots of time and he has to bat differently. He has that ability [to play in the V], and it’s all about the mindset… If he understands that, he will be big for the team,” he added.

For now, Shamim’s game carries that duality -- control and chaos -- shaped to meet the demands of a role where time is scarce but impact is everything.

Rain threat looms over the second T20I, with Chattogram experiencing heavy to moderate showers on Tuesday, leaving parts of the city waterlogged.

New Zealand skipper Tom Latham remains uncertain for this game as well, having missed the opener due to injury.

Bangladesh are expected to retain their winning combination.