Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim expects a tough competition but is looking forward to the challenge of tackling the likes of Australia, New Zealand, England and Sri Lanka in the ICC World Cup 2015.
Mushfiq’s comments came after the pools and itinerary of the World Cup were announced in Wellington on Tuesday, with the Tigers drawn in pool A with co-hosts Australia and New Zealand, along with England, Sri Lanka and two qualifiers.
‘This will probably be the toughest World Cup for us,’ Mushfiq said in a statement. ‘The conditions will be perfect for Australia, New Zealand and England, and it will be totally different to playing those sides in the subcontinent.
‘Sri Lanka also have more experience there. It is therefore extremely important how we prepare.
‘I am particularly excited at the prospect of playing in Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide for the first time.
‘New Zealand is also a beautiful country and I enjoy going there. We had some notable performances in Hamilton during our last visit and the weather there also suits us.
‘The game against the hosts could be quite a treat.
‘The Bangladeshi expatriate community has grown over the years in Australia and New Zealand and that is a huge encouragement for us,’ he said.
Coach Shane Jurgensen said that conditions in Australia and New Zealand were unlikely to create any problems for Bangladesh.
‘Certainly we are not worried at all,’ Jurgensen said after the pools were announced.
‘There are two reasons behind it. [First,] the grounds that we play on will suit us because of their own natural conditions. In Adelaide, Canberra and Melbourne, and the two New Zealand grounds too. [Second,] we have two qualifiers in our group.
‘The Gabba [Brisbane] will be a very good challenge for us, but I am confident that, as a support staff, we will have the experience and knowledge to prepare the players to be ready.
‘The World Cup is a tough tournament and our initial goal is to make the second round and from there we would grow confidence, and anything can happen in finals cricket.
‘The pitches other than the Gabba will suit us. The pitches at the other grounds will suit us and some will have turn also. I and Corey [Richards] know these grounds very well.’
Bangladesh will likely need to beat at least two cricketing giants in order to progress to the second round and Jurgensen said that if they could make the two co-hosts their victims it would be quite an achievement.
‘It’s a World Cup, so we will have to take some higher ranked teams down. Why not the two hosts? It would be an amazing effort,’ said the Tigers’ Australian coach.
BANGLADESH FIXTURES
Feb 18
Bangladesh v Qualifier 2, Canberra
Feb 21
Australia v Bangladesh, Brisbane
Feb 26
Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, Melbourne
March 5
Bangladesh v Qualifier 3, Nelson
March 9
England v Bangladesh, Adelaide
March 13
Bangladesh v New Zealand, Hamilton
-With New Age input
