Twelve floors above Chittagong, when Mohammad Salahuddin suddenly pulls out a notepad, starts rapidly sketching the special training routine he has devised, you know. You know why Bangladesh field like they do.

Not on the pad, but on the animated face that minutes later, breaks into a wide smile.

“Yes, we were one of the best fielding sides in the World Cup,” he says. “But I am not satisfied, there’s still a lot of work to do.”

But who is Mohammad Salahuddin? Far away from the spotlight that’s all over Dav Whatmore, and quite cool about it, Salahuddin is Bangladesh’s fielding coach — just 32 years old, who owes some of his skills to the “best time of his life” in India’s own National Institute of Sports, Patiala.

So happy about his job, so bubbly, so confident, that today, he is even ready with a prescription for the rivals, Team India.

“They need to try harder, and enjoy their fielding, that’s how they can improve. They must be very enthusiastic, they must change their body language. They need to be a little bit more aggressive on the field. If you see the Sri Lankan fielding side, the best now in my opinion, they are running, throwing, enjoying on the field. They put all heart into their game,” he says.

And? “They need to show more self-belief on the field.” And? “Their fitness level has to improve. Basically, fitness is very important, the relation between fitness and fielding is the key. You can’t be a good fielder if you are not completely fit,” says Salahuddin, a former first class fast bowler from Dhaka.

... contd.