Ace all-rounder Sakib al Hasan said on Friday that they were not concerned about the result of the forthcoming three-match one-day international series against the hosts South Africa despite a string of poor result so far in the tour. Bangladesh suffered crushing defeats in both the Test matches against the hosts and they were also outplayed by six-wicket in the lone tour match against the Cricket South Africa Invitation XI at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein on Thursday.
Sakib, who was not part of the Test team, top-scored for the Tigers with 68 runs, an innings that gave Bangladesh a fighting total in the warm-up match after they were left reduced to 63-4 at one stage.
But most importantly it reassured Bangladesh over their batting prowess on a tour when hardly anything was going right for them.
Bowlers nevertheless continued to struggle as Bangladesh lost by a big margin.
Sakib advised his team-mates to stick to their basics to overcome the situation and make their mark in the one-day series, scheduled to start from October 15 at De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley.
‘Ultimately if you keep on worrying about the result there is a little chance of having a good result,’ said Sakib.
‘We will try to do our basic works properly like giving a good start with the bat, bowl in the good areas and if you properly do these things, our chances of winning will also be increased in the match,’ he added.
The number one all-rounder in all three formats acknowledged that they were looking forward to showing their improvements in the upcoming one-day series as they didn’t perform well in the Test series.
‘This is completely a different place and there is a different atmosphere here. Everyone is focusing on the ODI series. This is the place where we can prove ourselves as we didn’t play well in the Tests. So we will try to show our improvements also in here,’ he added.
The 30-year old, however, admitted that the series will be as challenging for them as the other countries, who struggled in South Africa.
But he insisted that they would try their level best to get the same sort of result that they achieved at their home in 2015 when they defeated the Proteas 2-1 in a bilateral series.
‘We’ll obviously play for winning the match. It will be both difficult and challenging for us in such condition as like as the other countries.
‘When they last visited our country, they also faced defeats in there. Obviously, there is an effect on the play for the condition. So it will be a challenging matter for us. But everyone will try to play their best as their potentiality,’ he added.
-With New Age input
