Bangladesh Under-19 wicketkeeper-batsman Zakir Hasan yesterday expressed his hope of meeting the West Indies in the semi-finals of the U-19 World Cup.
Zakir’s unbeaten 77-ball 75, which helped put on an unbroken 117-run stand alongside captain Mehedi Hasan for the fifth wicket, guided the junior Tigers to a quarter-final win over high-flying Nepal, and subsequently a first ever place in the semi-finals of the age-level tournament.
The hosts will now face either Pakistan or the West Indies in the last four and Zakir said he would rather face the Windies youngsters instead of their subcontinent rival. The 18-year old has his reasons as the junior Tigers recently beat their West Indian counterparts 3-0 in a youth ODI series.
“Of course I would like to meet the West Indies. We had won three matches against them and I think comparatively, we have more strength. I will be happy to see them in the semis,” said Zakir in the sidelines of the Bangladesh U-19 practice session at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.
The home side have been in tremendous form in the ongoing 11th edition, sweeping to comfortable wins before meeting a determined Nepalese side in the last eight. And even though the hosts won the game, many thought their approach was a bit negative as only 10 balls were remaining before the junior Tigers eventually reached their destination.
Zakir though defended the approach, saying taking singles was important that day as the boundary was big.
“It was our plan. To score 150 first and then move accordingly. The boundary in that game was big so we were getting around four to five runs every over by running between the wicket. We did not need to play big shots,” Zakir explained.
The top-order’s failure in the tournament so far was also not lost on Zakir.
“Sirs (coaching staff) are in discussion with the top-order about it and are working hard in the nets. I hope things will be better in the coming days,” he said.
Following their victory over Nepal last Friday, the junior Tigers enjoyed a day off last Saturday. However, it is understood that the Bangladesh youngsters were kept busy in the hotel as the team management had discussions with the players, both as a unit and individually.