Former Bangladesh batting coach Mohammad Ashraful believes in-form Towhid Hridoy is well equipped to handle the South African attack in their own backyard.

Towhid, who has only played three Tests in his career so far, scored Bangladesh's highest individual Test score of 242 not out against West Indies in the second Test of the recently concluded two-match series in Sylhet, silencing his critics with the bat.

Ashraful, who was part of the Bangladesh coaching staff until recently, feels Hridoy has been rewarded for the hard work he has put in during practice.

“Look, after I joined, I would say that if you talk about the most consistent batsman, he was the most consistent performer in both formats, ODI and T20. In ODIs, he had almost a 61 average, and in T20s, a 45 average. He got an opportunity in Tests in Zimbabwe but couldn't perform that well. But the very next innings, he scored 350 in first-class cricket,” said Ashraful.

“So, in the Dhaka Test, I would say he was batting very well in the first innings until he got out, he scored 42. But the way he got out in both innings, we all criticized it. But his character in the 11 months... I've seen many players, his practice style was a bit different from everyone else's, that's what I felt in these 11 months,” he said.

“So he got the result of that, and the thing I always tried to tell our players that in cricket not everyone scores runs and one or two players will score runs in a match, and those runs will make such a difference that the match result is determined. Towhid Hridoy actually did that, and what I liked most is that he made partnerships of 100 and 90 runs with the last two batsmen, Taijul and Taskin and these things were very good,” he said.

Asked to elaborate on Hridoy's practice methods, Ashraful shared an experience from their time together in the nets.

“By 'different practice', I mean that he always tries to train hard. Which is, when you play against big teams, in situations like South Africa, there will definitely be bouncers, but most batsmen get out to the top [of off] ball in seaming conditions.

“So I remember he told me on the bowling machine, 'Ashraful Bhai, do whatever you want to me.' Usually, on a bowling machine, if you bowl inswing, outswing, bouncers, full balls, it's not that easy to adjust. Because you might be able to adjust from the hand, but it's difficult to adjust to these things from a machine,” he said.

“But he batted for almost two rounds and he adjusted wonderfully to it that lasted for 50 balls. That's what felt different to me that he practiced adjusting to the bowling machine as well, which is different from other players.

“And in South Africa, since he has recently played there, he definitely has a huge amount of experience. I think his performance in Sylhet will help him a lot to perform well in the South Africa Test,” he added.

Bangladesh have reached South Africa for a two-match Test series, with the first Test beginning in Johannesburg on November 15. The second Test will be played in Centurion from November 23, followed by three ODIs and three T20Is.