Towhid Hridoy has asked critics not to judge players on one or two innings, saying criticism is justified only when the same mistake keeps happening.

He spoke at the press conference on Sunday, after his record-breaking unbeaten 242 against West Indies in Sylhet.

“I have said this before, and I will always say it: you cannot perform consistently all the time, whether in cricket or any other profession. This happens with every team in the world. So, it is not right to judge someone based on one or two innings.”

The first question was about Mirpur, where he was dismissed in both innings playing untimely shots. His reply in Sylhet was a double century, and he has no quarrel with criticism itself.

“You should definitely criticise us. You have the right to criticise us when we make mistakes. But it should not be based on one or two innings. If the same mistake keeps happening consistently, then criticism is justified. Even then, you have to understand what the situation of the game demands.”

He also sees value in it.

“There will always be criticism. There will be criticism in your profession or any other profession. On days when we do well, you say positive things about us. On days when we do badly, you will criticise us. That is only natural. I think there is a lot to learn from criticism, if we can take it in the right way.”

The attacking style that drew questions in Mirpur was on show again in Sylhet, and he rejected the idea that it was careless.

“If the situation demands that I attack, I will attack. Sometimes, if you do not counter-attack, you cannot get out of that situation. Before a team can completely dominate us, we should also counter-attack in some way. That is why I like to do it.”

West Indies spread their field, which shaped his shot selection.

“Most of their fielders were back. So, to score runs, I had to hit the ball over the top. There was no other option. You could not achieve much by taking singles alone. I tried to choose the right balls and bowlers. I planned which bowler to target.”

He passed Mushfiqur Rahim’s record for the highest Test score by a Bangladeshi during the innings, and Mushfiqur stood in the dressing room to applaud. Records were far from his mind.

“It was written in my destiny. I did not really think about whom I was surpassing or what would happen. In that situation, I just felt that I had to fight as much as possible to take the team to a good position. I was set, it was my day and I was timing the ball well. I tried to contribute as much as I could to the team.”

Asked about the best innings of his career, he did not pick this one and went back to his Under-19 days instead.

“If you ask me, I scored three consecutive centuries for the Under-19 team. I still feel that was something special. Although it was at Under-19 level, scoring three centuries in a row still feels very special to me.”

He has no regrets about falling short of 250, and says his mindset has changed.

“Previously, I might have thought a lot about what would happen and what would not. Those thoughts do not come to me anymore. What I can control is whether I am practising properly and whether I am putting in the hard work. That is what matters most to me.”