Sohel Islam believes Miraz was not mentally settled, as Sylhet Titans crashed out of the BPL from the second qualifier once again.
It was a familiar ending for Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Last season too, a Miraz-led side failed to cross the second qualifier. The only change this year was his team. Miraz played for Khulna Tigers in the 2025 BPL. This time, he wore the Sylhet Titans jersey.
Sylhet faced a tight schedule in Mirpur. Two days ago, they played the Eliminator against Rangpur Riders. They won by three wickets after Chris Woakes hit a six off the last ball. The very next day, Sylhet returned to the same ground for the second qualifier. This time, they faced Rajshahi Warriors.
Sylhet could not repeat the same result. They lost by 12 runs and were knocked out of the tournament. Miraz also failed to make an impact with the bat in the playoffs. He scored 18 and 9 in the two matches.
After the loss, Sylhet head coach Sohel Islam spoke at the press conference. He explained why Miraz could not meet expectations this season. Sohel said, “When you start a tournament and you know we had to play on back-to-back days, there wasn’t even much time to think. The pressure of captaincy was there too. Overall, we feel that mentally Miraz was not at peace mentally.”
Miraz’s overall numbers also dropped sharply compared to last season. In the 2025 BPL, he scored 355 runs in 14 matches for Khulna Tigers. He averaged 27.3 and struck at 132.95. He also took 13 wickets at an economy rate of 7.71.
This season, he could not come close to those figures. For Sylhet Titans, he played 12 matches. He scored 100 runs at an average of 12.5 and a strike rate of 90.90. He also took six wickets with an economy rate of nine.
Sohel also said Miraz’s season was not only about cricket. On January 15, Miraz, Litton Das, and Najmul Hossain Shanto boycotted the BPL after responding to a call from CWAB president Mohammad Mithun. After returning to play in Mirpur, they were also booed by the crowd.
Sohel said several things affected Miraz’s form this year. He said, “The truth is Miraz hasn’t performed this year the way he did last year. I think getting a good start is very important. Performance isn’t just about skill, that’s not the only thing. His (Miraz’s) mental state, how the team is playing, these things also have an impact. There were different kinds of issues. You all know.”
