Abahani will be seeking an overall improvement in their performance in the Dhaka Premier League as they take on one time arch-rivals Mohammedan Sporting Club in Miprur today.
Abahani formed best team on paper but lost two of their first five matches to languish at the sixth place in the points table. A defeat against Mohammedan, who are on top the table, will come as a body blow for Abahani in what has appeared to be an open league.
‘We are far better side then the way we are playing. We are yet to play our best cricket,’ Abahani captain Tamim Iqbal told reporters on Wednesday.
Abahani won so far three matches against Kabagan KC, Brothers Union and Victoria SC, but Tamim said luck were involved on all three occasions as they could not dominate any of the matches the way they had expected.
‘We are lucky to win three matches so far. All the games were close apart from the opening game and it could have gone either way. We must come out of it and play as a unit,’ said the opener, who slammed three fifties so far.
Abahani yet to fire on all cylinders as batsman Liton Das and their overseas recruits failed to deliver in the first five matches. Abahani field Uday Kaul and Manvinder Bisla in overseas quota.
The form of Liton, one of the top performers in last season, is a particular concern for many in the club, though Tamim insisted he is just one good innings away from returning to his old self.
‘I am not worried with his form. I always feel that a form of a batsman depends on one single delivery. A boundary in a good delivery can always bring someone into form,’ said Tamim.
‘If he can face two to 10 balls with confidence he will surely come well. We need him because he is one of our key players,’ he said.
Tamim also took the blame on his shoulder for failing to translate his innings into a big score more often than not because he believed that would have helped his side in the league so far.
‘I am not also getting out after scoring 50 or 60 runs. It is not a good message for the team. I feel in a match one or two players will click and it is his duty to finish off the game,’ he said.
Abahani bolstered their squad adding Shahadat Hossain for injured Tapash Baishya a day after the Bangladesh Cricket Board lifted the player’s suspension.
-With New Age input
