Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim was optimistic about his side’s chances in the ICC World Twenty20 to be held in Sri Lanka from September 18. The wicketkeeper batsman emphasised two factors — his team’s good showing in this year’s Asia Cup in Dhaka and the right build-up to the mega tournament — while speaking at the pre-event media conference in Colombo on Thursday.
Mushfiqur wanted to take inspiration from the Asia Cup performance and carry on the good form shown by his team in the regional showpiece into the ICC World Twenty20.
“The Asia Cup was a huge step up for us. We beat India and Sri Lanka. If we had luck going our way maybe we would have beaten Pakistan in the final as well. Now, if we can build on the Asia Cup form it would be great for us,” the Bangladesh skipper was quoted as saying in the tournament’s official website.
Bangladesh’s performance in the tournament’s three editions thus far has been far from notable. The lack of match practice was blamed on those occasions but the situation could not be more different this time as the Tigers enter the meet after playing a number of T20 matches against South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ireland, the Netherlands and Scotland, apart from their participation in a T20 tournament in Trinidad & Tobago before coming to Sri Lanka.
So the Bangladesh captain had no doubts that his side has had the right build-up, saying that “The boys are shaping up really well. We have had a good preparation for the last three months. We played 12 games and won nine. A couple of our guys have also been playing here in the SLPL (Sri Lanka Premier League). So it is looking good for us.”
The Bangladesh wicket-keeper batsman also believed that momentum will be a huge factor in the tournament and was keen to see his side get on a roll.
“If we grab the momentum, anything is possible. It is not impossible in this format for any team to be beaten. We are very confident about our chances. The two warm-up matches are therefore important for us to take some momentum into the tournament,” said Mushfiqur.
Bangladesh will play their first warm-up game against Zimbabwe tomorrow and the second and final one against Ireland on September 17 in Colombo.
Bangladesh are in Group D along with New Zealand and Pakistan and are scheduled to play at Pallekele, a venue reputed to assist seamers. Hence Bangladesh’s band of left-arm spinners may not have the assistance that they are looking for from those pitches.
“We have couple of good left-arm spinners and a couple of very good all-rounders including Shakib (Al Hasan). We are even prepared for the Pallekele track as our pace attack is also very balanced,” added a confident Mushfiqur.
He however was very much aware of the fact that they are going to face tough challenges from their two group opponents.
“They (New Zealand and Pakistan) are a really good, balanced teams. Pakistan were champions in this tournament in 2009. New Zealand are quite strong in T20s, so if we do well with our skills, probably with some luck anything is possible,” explained Mushfiqur.
An area of concern could be that star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is still recovering from an injury, but Mushfiqur is not too worried and believed that he will be fit. “He has a bit of a niggle but he will rest enough and be ready to go when the tournament starts,” informed Mushfiqur.
-With The Daily Star input
