Bangladesh Test skipper Mushfiqur Rahim said on Monday that his team will get no better chance to make their mark against Australia when they take on the side in a two-Test series next month.
Australia named a 15-man squad for the series with two uncapped players and a few other greenhorns following the retirement of experienced campaigners Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Chris Rogers and Shane Watson.
New-look Australia will arrive on September 28 for a two-match Test series scheduled to be held in Chittagong from October 9-13 and in Dhaka from October 17-21 respectively.
Mushfiq said that Tigers would have been positive even if they had to face a seasoned Australian team due to their recent success that he believes would be giving his side enormous amount of confidence.
‘I don’t think there will be a better opportunity to beat Australia,’ Mushfiq told reporters at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Monday.
‘So we will try to give our 100 percent and more than hundred percent in the two Tests,’ said Mushfiq.
‘It’s not as though only if a young side comes to Bangladesh, will they lose.
‘The South African side that played against us was top-class, but they still lost. India’s full-strength side lost to us.
‘The main thing was that we played good and consistent cricket this year and that’s why the wins have come. So our main target will be to keep the focus that we have kept this year,’ said Mushfiq.
Mushfiq said they are inspired by the fact that in 2006 an inexperience Bangladesh team made the Australian sweat to earn their narrow three-wicket victory in the opening Test at Fatullah..
According to him at present Bangladesh team remains at par with their opponents in terms of experience.
‘In 2006, the Australian team that came here was probably their best ever. If the Bangladesh team back then managed to come so close to a victory, at a time when winning was something that the players probably didn’t think of,
‘In fact there were talks about whether Bangladesh would be able to play for four days, then by God’s grace, the kind of cricket we are playing right now, if we can play to the best of our ability, then a victory is definitely not impossible,’ he said.
‘Tests may be different, but at least our expectations have risen,’ he said.
Bangladesh so far played four Test matches against Australia and apart from the three-wicket loss got defeated by innings margin in all other matches.
-With New Age input
