Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusinghe hoped two of his stalwarts Sakib al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim will soon rediscover their batting form in order to give Tigers a strong chance in the ICC World Twenty20.
Sakib and Mushfiq failed to shine in any of the Asia Cup matches and continued their struggle in the World Twenty20 when they scored five and a duck respectively against Netherlands.Though Sakib made some compensation with the ball with two vital wickets, his injudicious shot selection during batting raised quite a few eyebrows.
Sakib could manage only a thick edge off a short and wide ball of Netherlands captain Peter Borren that on his top form he might have sent anywhere in the ground.
Mushfiq did nothing better as he was late to react to a good length ball of Timm van der Gugten, who found a big gap between his bat and pad to leave his leg stump cartwheeling.
Mushfiq, who could score just 40 runs in five matches of Asia Cup, suffered a shattering blow in his confidence after got out playing just two balls and that was evident in his wicketkeeping as he fumbled several times and conceded five byes.
Sakib and Mushfiq played a key role in Bangladesh’s progress to the quarter-final in the World Cup last year and Hathurusinghe said he expects them to make similar contribution this time around.
‘There are concerns with some senior players,’ said Hathurusinghe ahead of Bangladesh’s second match against Ireland. ‘We normally know that they are capable with more than what they are doing now.
‘The good thing is that we are footing a score that can be competitive. Team is not always going to fire with all seven or six batters.
‘But we are fortunate that the guys who are getting in, making a good contribution and that’s take the pressure off from some of the guys who are not doing well.
‘I hope very soon these guys will also come into the form and contribute to the team.’
Bangladesh rode on Tamim Iqbal’s unbeaten 83 off 58 balls to beat Netherlands by eight runs in the opening match.
-With New Age input
