“We went into the match with our best bowling options,” Mehidy said after Bangladesh won the third ODI on Sunday. “Mustafiz, Taskin and Rana have been bowling really well. Taskin gave us turning points in the match with his wickets. Otherwise we would have lost the match. We had planned to give players full opportunities, as we believe it gives us more chance to win matches.

“We have to keep our ranking points in mind [to qualify for the ODI World Cup next year]. It is most important for us in the coming days. It will help us in automatic qualification for the World Cup in 2027. We are focused on winning matches and winning series.”

On Sunday, Taskin took all the big wickets: Sahibzada Farhan with a rising delivery and blowing through Mohammad Rizwan to start with. Pakistan were 17 for 3 at that stage. Later, he got rid of Faheem Ashraf by cramping the left-hand batter for room and finally had the prized wicket of Salman Agha with a slower delivery that the Pakistani centurion couldn’t time as he went for a big hit.

“Taskin is among our most experienced cricketers. He is a really hard-working cricketer who uses his experience,” Mehidy said. “Taskin knows what to bowl in each situation. He knows how to motivate himself. Mustafiz never panicked despite getting hit for two sixes. He kept coming back. I think we have to give value to such experienced cricketers.”

Rana, who was adjudged Player-of-the-Series, showed his quality after returning to the ODI side. “I think Nahid Rana bowled very “well, especially if you consider that he was making a comeback into the side,” Mehidy said. He took a five-wicket haul in his return match. Taskin and Mustafiz both bowled well. We bowled them out for 114 runs in the first game. I think we bowled well in the second game post the 12th over. We made a great comeback in that game [but lost after being bundled for 114].”