Bangladesh Under 19 captain Mehedy Hasan on Thursday said that they will be targeting a place in the Super League phase of the forthcoming International Cricket Council U19 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Bangladesh were placed in Group B alongside Australia, Afghanistan and Namibia and the young Tigers need to finish in the top two positions in order to feature in the Super League.
The global youth event will get underway on February 14.
‘I think we have a very good chance of progressing to the Super League,’ Mehedy told reporters at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium during the official press conference ahead of the tournament.
‘We are playing as a team for a long time and that has helped us to grow as an unit.
‘Hopefully we can deliver through our unified efforts,’ he said.
Mehedy added that they are not going to lose sleep over their match against Afghanistan as the crucial tie will go a long way in deciding which team join powerhouse Australia in the next round.
Bangladesh, who reached the quarterfinals in 2012 in Australia and won the Plate Championship in 1998 and 2004, are confident about putting on a good display.
‘I don’t think there is much of a difference among the teams at this level,’ said Mehedy.
‘We are only concentrating on minimising our shortcomings and focus on our strengths that will be required to give a good account of ourselves,’ he added.
The team went through some changes in the management after their dismal performance in the recently concluded Asian Cricket Council Asia Cup as Australian head coach Richard McInnes was replaced by Mizanur Rahman.
‘I had worked with them earlier during the age level competitions that helped me to understand them better,’ said Mizanur, who was the assisstant coach of the youth side in the earlier edition of the World Cup.
Bangladesh will leave on Saturday and are scheduled to take part in two practice matches against Papua New Guinea and England on February 10 and 12 respectively.
-With New Age input
