Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim said they are hopeful to fight back in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup forgetting the dismal performance in the home series against Sri Lanka in the just concluded Asia Cup.
The exciting qualifying round of the World Cup will begin on March 16 with the Bangladesh- Afghanistan match. Bangladesh will play two preparation matches against United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ireland on March 12 and 16 respectively before the qualifying round starts at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
“Afghanistan is a big opponent for us and our target is to beat them,” said Mushfiq at a press conference on Sunday at the Sher- e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
The captain takes Afghanistan as a big barrier for them in the qualifying round as Bangladesh suffered a shocking 32 runs defeat to Afghanistan in the Asia Cup.
“As our first match of the World Cup qualifying round is against Afghanistan, there is no alternative but to win against them to make our path easy for the final round.”
He said: ” They [Afghanistan] will also be under pressure as they would like to perform in such a big event. But we want to take revenge after being beaten in the Asia Cup. Our first target is to cross the first round, but more importantly, we are concentrating on the first match against Afghanistan. We have two matches after that – against Nepal and Hong Kong.”
The right-handed batsman Mushfiqur hoped that Mashrafe, Tamim and Sohag Gazi would be fit for the first match, with the trio still recovering from injuries. Gazi hurt his bowling hand during the Afghanistan game while Mashrafe suffered a side strain in the India match. Tamim missed the Asia Cup after suffering a neck strain during the Sri Lanka series.
Mushfiqur himself hurt his finger during the second Test against Sri Lanka and have given Anamul Haque the wicket-keeping gloves in the last seven ODIs, but he said he hopes to recover soon. “I had another X-ray. I will start keeping from tomorrow, and the pain has already reduced. I hope to keep wickets from March 16.”
“I believe that we will find everyone fully fit which will make us stronger. I think it is important to do well on the particular day and overcome the pressure.”
The diminutive wicket keeper said their recent poor performance has made the team a lot keener, and urged his players to step up. What also motivates them is their poor World T20 performance till date.
He said they are more focused on working hard, and showing their performances. They want to ensure that Bangladesh can take up a big challenge in this World T20.
“We need to be calm under pressure, and there are guys in the dressing room, who play better under serious pressure. I hope they will perform better in the coming days,” he added.
