'Play the ball, not the bowler' - Mushtaq Ahmed

Bangladesh's spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed said that their batters need to play the ball rather than playing Rashid Khan, who had wrecked through their batting line-up in both the ODIs to help them clinch the three-match series with one game in hand.

Rashid, who picked four wickets in the opening game of the series, grabbed a five-fer (5 for 17) in the second ODI on Saturday to give Afghanistan an 81-run win.

"I think they are playing Rashid, not the ball. He is not a big spinner of the ball. But he is very experienced. He is a wicket-taker. His line and length is very consistent. I think we have to sometimes play the ball, not the bowler. We have to improve quickly," Mushtaq told reporters following the defeat.

"If you have great temperament you can play against any bowler in international cricket. Rashid has been very successful for many, many years for Afghanistan, but [at the] same time as a Bangladeshi batting unit, we should know how to play the ball, not the bowler," he said.

Mushtaq added that their batters need to take singles against spinners in the middle overs to keep the scoreboard ticking and slowly apply the pressure back on to the opponent.

"You must have a better technique against spinners in middle overs, how to get singles on good balls. If you can rotate strike, I think that will put more pressure on bowlers than yourself," said Mushtaq.

"I think the ground reality is we have to sort out our batting. They are good players, they can bat. But obviously against spinners like Rashid and all, [who are] very mature and experienced cricketers in those conditions, we have to be very proactive to playing those kind of spinners very quickly."

Mushtaq also called for more application by the batters and increased situational awareness by the collective group of them.

"I think if we can do that in the middle overs, if we can start playing spin well in those conditions, I believe that Bangladesh can challenge against any team.

"I think when you play lots of dot ball, and then you have to play a big shot, that's why you start losing a wicket. Being a spinner [myself], I know that the people who score runs easily, singles and doubles, that puts more pressure on a spinner," he said.

Mushtaq said that their batters need to change their mind set from T20Is to ODIs in order to earn success in the 50-over format.

"I think there is an issue in batting coming from T20s into ODIs. Everything else is clicking. Our fielding standard, fitness, spin and fast bowling are all doing well. Our system is working well. They are playing good cricket.

"So if we sort out our batting in the 50-over format, that will be great for us. I think it is very, very important that we have to improve a lot in batting," he concluded.