Shakib Al Hasan said that winning today’s first one-dayer of the five-match series is inspiration enough for himself and his team.
The Bangladesh team that is reeling from the one-off Test loss by 130 runs has a great opportunity to salvage their tour to Zimbabwe. They get their first shot at redemption in the opening game here at the Harare Sports Club.
“Everyone should be motivated. They were all disappointed about the loss but we can’t really sit on it. We need to focus on the next match,” said the Bangaldesh captain ahead of training yesterday.
“In any series, the first one-day is always very important. If we can win the first game, the momentum will be with us,” he added.
Bangladesh will go into the game with question marks over Imrul Kayes’s form, though it is more than likely that he’ll be in the playing eleven.
The left-handed opener, who won two man-of-the-match awards in the World Cup, forms a stable partnership with Tamim Iqbal and are the Tigers’ most successful one-day opening pair but of late, the selection panel have been said to be worried due to Imrul’s lean patch during this tour.
Nasir Hossain could be given an opportunity to play, the Rangpur-born all-rounder seemingly in the thick of things during the Test match and having settled himself as a Tiger off the field too.
Shakib might have some headaches while choosing between a two-man pace attack and filling the line-up with all-rounders, though he has a lot of options available in the 16-man ODI squad.
From a personal point of view, Shakib remains on a high. Even after losing the No 1 spot in the ICC one-day all-rounders’ ranking, the left-hander was included in the governing body’s first list as the best one-day player of the year. But Shakib believes the most important duty for him would be to perform for the team and win the first game.
“I only heard it on Facebook last night. I think the biggest motivation is to win the game tomorrow, nothing more than that.
“I think more than proving myself, if I can contribute to the team that’s more important,” he said.
They will be up against a team that has improved in the recent past and the loss in the Test match would have been the wake-up call Bangladesh never looked forward to.
“They’ve played together for 5-6 years. There have been only a few changes since 2005 or 2006. They definitely have more understanding, and I think they’re a very improved team,” he added.
Yet, Shakib wanted the momentum going into a three-match dig in the space of five days as much as his rival skipper would.
The Tigers’ familiarity with the one-day format is well known and their dominance over the Zimbabweans in the last five years have erased the deficit they’ve had earlier. It stands at 28-23 now with Bangladesh having won seven out of the last eight one-day series played between the two teams.
-With The Daily Star input
