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]]>Since the Zimbabwe series I was so engrossed with cricket that I couldn’t even realize when any festivity was coming. After the match yesterday [Wednesday] I went out for sehri and fortunately one shop was open so I did some shopping for my two kids.
Oh! Such a hectic life. After third match, I am finally feeling that Eid is coming and I’m going to my sweet hometown [Narail]. Everyone has some kind of way to blow off steam. Some people like to go outside and visit places, but for me it’s by going home. It refreshes me completely and I feel reenergised.
If someone really understands the game then they will say that what happened to us over the past few months is outstanding. And from my perspective this is a huge achievement for Bangladesh cricket, especially the year 2015. For us, in terms of one-day cricket, the last eight months were like a dream, but we are the ones who realised that dream.
I feel Bangladesh cricket has reached such a stage that it’s time for us to move further forward. Although I still doubt how the normal people are taking this. If they keep on expecting wins then it will become very difficult for us because we still have a long way to go. We will now be playing T20Is one after another, which is always challenging for us, but before that there is an even bigger challenge; playing 4 Test matches against South Africa and Australia.
I said before the World Cup that if we could perform well then it would help us in our series after that, but I didn’t expect it to help us so much.
Honestly, a lot of people have criticised us saying that Tamim [Iqbal] keeps getting out, Soumya [Sarkar] is not making the most of his starts, but we toned everyone out. Out of 16 crore people if 5 crore are watching cricket, then 1 crore people will have the same opinion and the rest of the 4 crore will have different opinions. So if you try to listen to everyone you can never move forward. I feel that we understood what we had to do to play good cricket and we executed that. Tamim is still playing shots, Soumya is playing with freedom, the bowlers know where and when to attack. We did everything based on a system.
I never planned ahead for anything in my life — not for my exams, not when I had to buy clothes for an occasion — I always do things at the last moment. So when I got the captaincy, I kept doing what I always did. I never thought about success, failure, future or past. None of that bothered me.
I never expected that I will captain Bangladesh. There’s a reason behind saying that because when I started playing I always felt that there can be nothing better than playing for my country. I thought there’s no need to go further than that.
People are talking about my attacking captaincy. The thing is very simple to me. Recently I saw that things have become much easier for the batsmen. They have gotten into a habit of hitting shots. They never defend and both the wicket and format suit them. From what I have seen, the batsmen will play shots, but as long as I can stop them from taking singles it will create pressure. If you don’t allow them to rotate the strike then the batsmen are forced into taking risks. I always try to stay one step ahead of the batsmen.
I do what my instinct tells me to do. On Thursday I was told to bring in Mustafizur [Rahman] but I waited, because my gut-feeling was telling me to bring on [Mahmudullah] Riyad. I did that and he got a wicket with his first ball. So it’s mostly all instant decisions.
We’ve climbed from ninth to eighth to seventh [in the ICC ODI rankings] and we can keep moving forward. At least we should try and hold onto this spot for a while and then go up when the time is right. Cricket is all about ups and downs, but the main thing is to hold on to your position and be patient.
I would like to urge everyone not to get too excited. We should respect all teams we play. On the flipside don’t treat our defeats too harshly. Patience is very important in every aspect of life. I think the team that is developing now can put in more professional performances after 2 or 3 years.
Regarding my 200 wickets, if I did play 100 matches more then I might have been a more celebrated bowler. Perhaps everyone would have been more proud of me that I have taken 300 or 350 wickets. I believe I had that ability and longevity, but despite playing for Bangladesh for 14 years, I’ve lost 3-4 years to injury.
Let me shatter some illusions today. We are entertainers. We are not heroes. The heroes are our freedom fighters. We don’t sacrifice anything for the cause of the nation. The freedom fighters did. Don’t misunderstand me, cricket is not everything. What we try to do is to bring happiness to our nation.
We still have to prove many things. We have games in England, New Zealand and Australia. If we can win some matches there then I will say that we can beat any team anywhere. However, the beauty of this team is that none of the players are ever fully satisfied.
I can tell you right now Tamim will finish on 10,000 runs, Shakib 10,000 runs and 400 wickets, Mushfiq 10,000 runs, Mustafiz 400 one-day wickets and Soumya 10,000 runs. Bangladesh is the team that will produce the most world-class players in the next ten years, if the money-spinning T20 leagues don’t creep in.
I don’t know how long I can keep playing with this team. But I can assure you the moment I will understand my drive and willpower have decreased, I will call time.
-With The Daily Star input
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]]>the two sides have more match-winners than other teams in the competition and this is a special strength which will help the teams to win matches in the shortest version of the game.
It is in this area that Bangladesh stand far behind the other top teams — instead of brilliant displays of talent from a host of match-winners Bangladesh have to rely on their team’s combined effort. According to Mushfiqur the defeat against Ireland again exposed their weakness in the newest version of the game, a format they have only recently started coming to terms with. The Bangladesh captain believed that Ireland didn’t win the match; rather it was gifted to their opponents mainly through the Tigers’ poor middle-order batting. The vulnerable middle-order has become a headache for the team ahead of their challenges against New Zealand and Pakistan in the group stage. The team management have to rectify the issue if they want to pull off a few surprises in the tournament because it is more or less a batsman’s game.
“You see our top order is getting runs for the last six months and they are in good touch but the problem lies with our middle order. It has happened quite often over the last six months that we lost a few quick wickets in the middle. It was a very easy match against Ireland but we lost three quick wickets though there was no hurry with the asking run rate,” said Mushfiqur, who looked confident despite his team’s five-run defeat against Ireland in the last warm-up game in Colombo.
Then the question came up of where exactly the middle-order problems lay?
“Me, Riyad bhai (Mahmudullah Riyad) and Nasir (Hossain) became cautious rather than playing our natural game though the situation was a normal one for us. And few dot balls put pressure on us which forced us to play some bad shots. We could have finished the match with a few overs in hand if we played our natural game because we are basically stroke players. This was a new experience for us because we hardly get that kind of a comfortable situation when we go out to bat. We talked with our coach (Richard Pybus) and realised our problem which is that we have to play with a positive mindset,” he explained.
“I think there is no problem with the skill; rather it’s a psychological problem,” he added.
The fourth version of the mega event has widely been considered the most open tournament, in which case Bangladesh should be looking forward to their chances in the meet.
“Previously we never took such a preparation before the tournament as this time we played 15 matches in different conditions. We achieved 80 to 85 percent of our expectations. There might be some problems with individual improvements but overall our preparation is not bad. What we must ensure is that we do not get over-excited with the tournament. True, it’s a World Cup match but it is also just a cricket match and we must think along those lines,” responded the wicketkeeper-batsman, who won nine matches out of fifteen, while reiterating that there is no small or big team in this version.
He admitted that as a captain it was painful for him when they lost the match against Ireland but like star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, he also said that he wants to take the positives from the defeat.
Rather than focusing too much on the defeat, the Tigers apparently seemed to be focused on their next challenge against New Zealand on September 21 at the Pallekele National Cricket Stadium.
“We have to do extra hard work in the next two days before the match against New Zealand. We are accustomed to the weather and now we have to adjust to the conditions where uncharacteristically pace bowlers get the favour. But our strength is spin bowling and you know our opponents have number of left-handed batsmen,” said Mushfiqur.
The Bangladesh captain thus hinted that they are not interested in tampering with the combination that played the last two warm-up games.
-With The Daily Star input
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]]>There was hardly anything left for a captain to say when his team lost the match by an innings and 184 runs. That might be the reason why Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim was found at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday to be bewildering while talking about yet another heavy defeat.
It made some sense when the wicketkeeper-batsman suggested that nothing would be changed until Bangladesh Cricket Board improves the infrastructure of first-class cricket. But many were surprised when he defended the batsmen’s excessive shots in both the innings which was the real reason behind the huge loss.
“We must improve our first-class infrastructure and without that we will continue with this sort of performance in Test cricket. We must make it a habit of scoring hundred or double-hundred by playing in the first-class competition. We may show some impressive performances in 1-2 matches but overall, the situation will be the same as it is today,” said the Bangladesh skipper. “Another thing which we need to confirm is that all the national players should be made available in the first-class competition to ensure the level of competitiveness. We can improve our skills by only playing in the NCL.”
When even the visiting batsmen played sensibly by checking their shots against a comparatively weaker bowling attack and especially on a placid track, the Bangladesh batsmen went for ambitious shots like playing sweep or pull which surprised many and showed that they didn’t learn any lesson from the continuous mistakes. Mushfiqur however said that his batsmen learnt from the first innings mistakes to do better in the second essay.
“I think our batsmen tried to play their natural game and there was nothing wrong with that. Actually we have to show more patience, determination and right application to prolong the innings,” defended Mushfiqur.
The Bangladesh skipper also said that there were some positives in their performance and they can take this to the second and final Test against the visitors to be held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium from December 17.
“Nazim bhai played well in the match. We had an expectation of him and he fulfilled it. We can take inspiration from him. Our bowling was also not bad though we dropped some catches which helped some of the Pakistani batsmen to play big innings,” he said. “We actually got out of the match when we lost five wickets in the first session of the first day. But still Nasir and Shakib batted well in the first innings while Nazimuddin and Shakib played good knocks in the second which was the positives for us.”
Nazimuddin admitted that scoring in the National Cricket League, the lone first-class competition in the country, helped the Chittagonian to make an impressive debut in the Test cricket. “My first-class experience helped me to bat well in the match. I’m happy with my performance in the first Test match. I was a little bit nervous but I tried to stay at the crease. After fifty, I was a bit excited otherwise I could have prolonged my innings,” said a delighted Nazimuddin.
Shockingly though, he was not fully disappointed for not making the a hundred on debut.
-With The Daily Star input
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]]>The visitors however remained without a win in three games, but it was just the tonic they needed ahead of Friday night’s Roses clash at Old Trafford.
Defending a total of 152 for 7, Yorkshire were well served by man-of-the-match Richard Pyrah who captured 4 for 21 and Adil Rashid who claimed 3 for 19 off his four overs. But the real star performance came from Worcestershire’s Gareth Andrew who followed up his 3 for 30 by smashing an unbeaten 60 off 24 deliveries with five fours and four sixes.
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, playing in his second season for Worcestershire, took two wickets including a spectacular return catch but didn’t make any impact as he made just three off six balls in 21 laborious minutes in a bid to resurrect his side’s poor start but he fell to make the score 37 for four.
With Rashid and Pyrah each collecting two wickets in an over, Worcestershire slumped to 67 for 5 before Andrew set about the bowling, striking David Wainwright for two big sixes and a four in one over and hammering Steve Patterson for four and six to take his side into three figures.
James Cameron helped him add 59 in five overs for the sixth wicket before falling in another double-wicket over from Pyrah but Andrew refused to give up the fight and Ryan Sidebottom had to bowl the final over with 12 wanted.
Shaaiq Choudhry drove his first ball for three and when Andrew could only run a bye off the fifth his partner needed a boundary to win it for Worcestershire but he failed to make contact and the pair could only scamper another bye.
As so often has been the case this season, Yorkshire’s Andrew Gale got the innings off to a cracking start in an opening stand of 40 in 28 balls with Jonny Bairstow, the Yorkshire captain smacking five boundaries in his 29 off 15 deliveries before miscuing Shakib to Damien Wright running in from mid-on.
A powerful off-drive by Adam Lyth at the expense of Jack Shantry raised the 50 inside six overs but when Choudhry came on the left-hander drove his second ball straight to Moeen Ali at deep mid-on.
Bairstow was lbw swinging at Ali for 24 from 27 balls and Anthony McGrath just appeared to have got into his stride when he tamely played Andrew’s third ball to Shantry at midwicket, making it 99 for 4.
The slide continued as Gary Ballance flicked a ball from Andrew into Ben Scott’s gloves and the seamer picked up his third wicket by getting Gerard Brophy to hole out to Daryl Mitchell.
Shakib went full stretch to pluck a left-handed return catch from Pyrah out of the air and it was only some effective hitting by Sidebottom in the final over from Andrew that gave Yorkshire a total they were so narrowly able to defend.
-With The Daily Star input
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]]>Australia’s Shane Watson displaced Sakib after Wednesday’s third and final one-dayer, ending his long reign of 115 weeks and four days as top one-day all-rounder.
Sakib climbed to the top on January 23 in 2009 and retained his position with consistent performance before his form dipped in the World Cup.
A total of 351 ODIs were played since Sakib rose to the top but no-one from any other side were a match for Sakib over the period.
Watson came close to Sakib during the World Cup and finally toppled him, making 294 runs along with three wickets in the three-match series against Bangladesh. His feat included a record 15 sixes in his 185 not out in the second one-dayer.Sakib scored only 69 runs in the series and claimed just one wicket and as a consequence fell 44 rating points behind Watson in the latest ICC ranking released on Thursday.
His poor performance also took a toll on his bowling ranking. Sakib was ranked number two in the bowling charts before the World Cup. But he did not do any justice to this billing in the World Cup despite playing all the matches on home soil and was thrown out of top 10 after the end of the tournament.
He began the Australia series in 12th place and after just one wicket in three matches, averaging 117, took him further three places down to 15.
Sakib’s ranking as a batsman also worsened with him now slipping to 26th place.
Courtesy of New Age
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]]>South Africa secured its place at the top on the point table and among top eight moving into the next round with five wins. On the other hand, Bangladesh crashed out of the tournament failing to add points from the match, which was their last opportunity.
Tigers folded for 78 runs. Silence descended in the capital in the last ball of the 28th over when Peterson bowled Naeem Islam. Naeem 8 runs off 20 balls.
Earlier, South Africa skipper Graeme Smith had a dream opening when Tamim, their biggest worry, fell for only five runs in the fourth over. Tsotsobe’s third ball got some of Tamim’s bat sending a noise. As the loud appeal failed to convince the umpire, the fielders went for a review and got the decision for them. Tamim played 14 balls.
Imrul Kayes, who became player of the match in Bangladesh’s last two wins against Netherlands and England, also followed Tamim’s path at the hands of the same bowler, Tsotsobe. He mistook to judge the fourth ball of the sixth over and was astonished to see the bails in the air. His 15-ball inning earned him four runs.
Next wicket, Junaid Siddique, fell in the last ball of the next over. Johan Botha delivered a full-length around off hitting him in front of the stumps to trap him in a leg before. Junaid sought for a review only to be confirmed of the on-field umpire’s decision. He scored only 2 off 7 balls.
Tsotsobe hit again in the next over. His tricky delivery on the off-stump again trapped the batsman, Shahriar Nafees this time, getting an inside edge to dislodge the bails along its way. Nafees went back for five runs playing 12 balls, including a boundary.
Joining Mushfiqur, skipper Shakib Al Hasan made a desperate attempt for a partnership to give Bangladesh innings a footing. Both of them played cautiously without going for big hits.
South African skipper Graeme did not let that happen. He took a superb catch on the slip in the first ball of the 16th over to see Mushfiqur off. Peterson gave a flighted delivery around off to lure Mushfiqur for a push. The Bangladesh wicket-keeper-batsman played 21 balls to score three runs.
Bangladesh’s fight virtually fell apart in the 24th over when skipper Shakib Al Hasan fell. Shakib had a thick edge on Peterson’s fourth delivery, which was a slightly quicker one. Wicket-keeper Morne van wyk took it on the rebound.
Shakib scored 30 off 49 balls.
Shafiul, who joined Naeem Islam two balls later, went back two balls later. The flighted delivery on the leg stump took off the bails as Shafiul went for a sweep.
Taking to the crease, Razzak could face two balls before going back to the pavilion. Playing Imran Tahir a sweep in the last ball of 25th over, he sent the ball to Peterson at deep midwicket to go back for a duck.
Earlier, winning the toss, South African captain Graeme Smith elected to bat first.
Bangladesh bowlers succeeded to have some grip on the Proteas batsmen sending back eight of them to the pavilion but were too late to do that, giving the opponents enough time and chance to pile up 284 runs.
The Tigers with the ball proved too ordinary for the Proteas, who have already reserved their place for the quarterfinal by scoring eight points from five matches. Bangladesh must win the game to continue their World Cup campaign.
Pacer Rubel Hossain struck the South African batting line-up lately, picking up three wickets in his eight overs, though he conceded 56 runs, in the best bowling figure for Bangladesh bowlers in the match.
However, Tigers skipper Shakib Al Hasan earned the co-host the long expected breakthrough while Jacques Kallis was flexing his muscle scoring runs on all the directions.
Kallis and Faf du Plessis, who added 82 runs in the fourth partnership, was turning into a major threat for Bangladesh. Though he was slow to score at the beginning of his inning, Kallis turned devastating after reaching his 50. Shakib trapped him to lob a catch back to him in the third ball of the 45th over. Kallis scored 69 off 76 balls, including five boundaries and an over-boundary.
Shakib hit again in the fourth ball of his next over, bowling out this time Morne van Wyk for five runs of as many balls.
du Plessis was turning dangerous for the Tigers, as he scored 52 runs off as many balls. Pacer Rubel had an eye on him and gave him a full toss, forcing him to give a catch to Tamim at the mid-off in the 48th over.
Rubel gave the local crowd an occasion to celebrate in the first ball of the 50th over removing Botha. When Robin Peterson dug out the ball, Botha rushed out to take a single but Peterson sent him back. Collecting the ball, Rubel threw that at his end and Botha went back for 12 runs of six balls.
Wayne Parnell was the last man for the South African to go back in the same over. Parnell tried to punch the good length ball past midwicket but missed it to see it crashing into the stumps. He went back for a duck.
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Shahriar Nafees, Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam and Rubel Hossain.
South Africa: Graeme Smith (Captain), Hashim Amla, Morne van Wyk, Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Johan Botha, Robin Peterson, Wayne Parnell, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Imran Tahir.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
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]]>Prior to today’s crunch Bangladesh-South Africa match, the question on everybody’s lips was what awaited the millions of cricket crazy fans in the country? Will it be heartbreak or will today usher in an era of hope?
Shakib Al Hasan’s men can write a new chapter for Bangladesh cricket when they face off against an inform South Africa in a make or break battle at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. But for each and every single person their feelings have oscillated between hope and hopelessness as regards the outcome of the match which has turned into a do-or-die clash for Bangladesh after the West Indies crumpled against England on Thursday.
If someone take the result of the last two matches and the spirited display of the Tigers and of course the advantage of the home conditions, he or she will definitely be looking at something positive. And if they do manage to come out on top it will be a pinnacle in achievement for the Tigers.
But the pressure would be absolutely on the Tigers because only a win in the day match will take them to the quarterfinals from Group B, the group of death in the ICC Cricket World Cup, and anything else will mean that the World Cup will be over for the Bangladesh team and as well as millions of fans.
On the contrary there is virtually no pressure on the South Africa team and they were found in a relaxed mood while practicing at Mirpur yesterday. They have already confirmed their quarterfinals berth and a win will only keep their supremacy intact.
South Africa is one of the favourites in the tournament, especially their bowling attack has lot of variety, which can exploit any conditions but still Shakib’s men can say that no team is unbeatable and anything can happen in cricket: a fact they have proved time and again. The on paper favourite does not always win the matches which Bangladesh team has also proved in the tournament by beating the mighty England at Chittagong.
It’s not only that someone plays with emotion versus reality but the fact is also that Bangladesh has a sweet memory of a 67-run victory over the same opponents four years back in the second round of the 2007 World Cup in Guyana..
Thus Shakib’s men not only can take the inspiration from their last two back-to-back victories against England and Netherlands but they can also take it from their great victory in the last World Cup.
Like the 2007 game, Bangladesh have pinned their hopes on the slow bowlers this time also and what will be required is an innings like Mohammad Ashraful’s, who hit 87 in Guyana in 2007. He will not feature today even as Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said that everybody has to play their part to win.
“It’s not as if only Tamim and myself can fire, rather everybody must contribute if we want to win the match,” said Shakib.
Pointing out that the spinners squeezed them in 2007, South African skipper Graeme Smith said that they were more careful this time. “We’ve had a good look at Bangladesh. They’ve averaged 40-42 overs of spin in a game so we expect to face a lot of spin tomorrow. They also have seven left-handers in their team so we’d also look at that and see how we can benefit,” said Smith.
By winning three games in the showcase event, Bangladesh almost achieved their pre-tournament target and now it’s time for them to take their game into new height.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
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]]>The youngest captain in the tournament was in a carefree mood while talking with the reporters at the pre-match press conference following training at Mirpur yesterday.
“We have been playing good cricket throughout the tournament though many have raised question about our batting. At least three times we scored more than our opponents and that’s why we won these matches,” said Shakib when asked about his side’s poor batting display in the tournament.
“I believe we have a good chance to win tomorrow’s match if we can stick to our plan. Everybody is confident after back-to-back wins against England and Netherlands. It’s possible to qualify into the quarterfinals if we can play our best cricket,” added Shakib, who is also satisfied with his own performance in the tournament.
The Bangladesh skipper also said that the team spirit was hardly dented by the West Indies defeat against England, which threw Bangladesh into a must win situation against favourite South Africa, against whom they had won the second round game in 2007 World Cup in Guyana.
“Yes, it could have been an easy for us if West Indies won their match against England and now the task is a little bit difficult for us. But everything is now in our hands. We can win the match to qualify into the quarterfinals. After the dismissal of Chris Gayle I watched a Hindi movie,” said a confident Shakib.
“Without any doubt South Africa is a better team than us but we are confident because it would not be an easy task for any team in the world to beat us at our own conditions. Except the first game it was not so easy to bat on this wicket and you know our spinners have been doing well and we are hopeful they will play a vital role also in the match,” opined Shakib.
Bangladesh skipper also rubbished the notion that Tamim Iqbal and he must take the responsibility if his side wanted to win the big match.
“I don’t think so, rather I believe that everybody should contribute if we want to win the match,” said Shakib.
He however praised the South African bowling attack highly. “We must be careful against both spin and pace bowlers. South Africa has a very good bowling attack and as well their batting line-up is also strong. So we must put a good total on the board if we bat first and on the other hand we must bowl well if we bat second,” observed Shakib.
The Bangladesh captain did not reveal their team combination but it was learnt that off-spinning all-rounder Naeem Islam will return to the team in place of left-arm spinner Sohrawardi Shuvo, who played the last game against Netherlands in Chittagong.
BANGLADESH-SOUTH AFRICA ENCOUNTERS
Andre Nel took the only five-wicket haul.
Herschelle Gibbs has played the most matches (11).
Matches: 13
Bangladesh won: 1
South Africa won: 12
Courtesy of The Daily Star
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]]>Bangladesh made the meagre score a winning total after a four-wicket blast by paceman Shafiul Islam helped them dismiss Ireland for 178 runs with five overs left.
‘I always believed in us. What we needed was some regular breakthroughs and we did it,’ said Sakib.
‘It’s not only me, the entire team believed it. In the dressing room a lot of players came to me and said, “Don’t worry we will win the game at least by 30 runs.’
The fate of the match was hanging in the balance until Shafiul bowled his third spell, which was full of surprise.
Shafiul revese-swung the ball in the spell and became an unlikely hero for Bangladesh in a game otherwise dominated by the spinners. The performance effectively ended the nightmare he had against India in the opening match, conceding 69 runs in seven overs.
Sakib understandably showered him with heavy praise.
‘We all knew that he can bowl better and he did exactly that,’ said Sakib.
‘Today [Friday] in the first and second spell, he did not get his rhythm right but I think in the third spell he bowled brilliantly. He bowled in the right place and swung the ball and that made the Irish batsmen pay,’ said Sakib.
Despite the win, Sakib, however, refused to get carried away. The celebration they had after winning the game against an ICC associate member nation raised quite a few eyebrows in the ground.
Sakib said they had their victory lap not to celebrate the win but to show respect to the fans who were their 12th man in this game.
‘It wasn’t really a victory lap,’ said Sakib. We did that for our fans who had put their faith in us and I think they deserved it.
‘They came to support us even when we were practising. I think they gave us an excellent support. I thought it’s our responsibility to show some respect to them,’ said Sakib.
Courtesy of New Age
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]]>In the first official press conference of the World Cup at Hotel Sheraton yesterday, the Bangladesh captain was typically breezy in his responses and though not as quirky as Englishman Graeme Swann, the 23-year-old Shakib kept the show alive with his usual self.
“If I am good enough, I am old enough. If I can play at this level, I think I am good enough,” he said when asked how he would face up to more experienced sides, given that his side is one of the youngest in the tournament.
Shakib is certainly the youngest captain with Zimbabwe’s Elton Chigumbura being the second at 24. But the all-rounder is certainly unafraid of the opposition, the hype of playing at home, and the occasion.
“If we think of the tournament to be a big deal, then there’ll be pressure. It is just another cricket match where we play with bat and ball. There’s nothing extraordinary, nobody will be bowling at 180-190mph.
“The crowd supports us. Hosting the meet is a bonus for us. All players know the conditions better than anyone,” he added.
Shakib said the wins over West Indies, England, New Zealand and Zimbabwe over the last year and a half have given him belief that he can hope of bigger things. But Shakib, though a dream for the media, stayed realistic about his goals.
“We have to win at least four matches to win a place in the second round. It will be a bit difficult. I think we are capable of booking a place in the second round,” he said.
India, South Africa, England, the West Indies, the Netherlands and Ireland are the other teams in Group B, with the top four making it to the quarterfinals. Bangladesh start their campaign in Dhaka with the tournament’s opening game on February 19 against India, and also play two practice matches against Canada (on February 12) and Pakistan (February 15).
“We won’t lose confidence if we lose to a team like Pakistan but if we beat them, then we will certainly feel positive and confident,” said Shakib, the No. 1 all-rounder in the world.
He was also confident that Bangladesh could iron out the mistakes they had made, citing the Powerplay as one of the areas which would be different during the World Cup. “We have done well in the Powerplays in the last two series. The players have thought of it from a personal point of view and have worked on it during the Premier League,” he said.
With all the planning and media and sponsor commitments, Shakib is certainly a changed individual, a stark difference from the 2007 World Cup. “I had little responsibility [in 2007] but I have more now, but my playing role hasn’t changed. I still have to bat well in the middle-order, bowl a tight 10-over spell and field brilliantly,” he added.
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