Confident Mahmudullah vows to perform better

Bangladesh middle-order batsman and Test vice captain Mahmudullah expressed confidence ahead of the home series against Sri Lanka. BCB made changes to the Tigers’ Test team after a frustrating away tour of South Africa. Shakib al Hasan was appointed the new captain, replacing Mushfiqur Rahim, while Mahmudullh was selected vice captain in place of Tamim Iqbal. “I will try my best to fulfill my duty. Every player has the dream to captain his side. I am thankful to BCB that they have chosen me as vice captain in Tests. Obviously as a senior player, my role is to perform regularly and also help the captain. We will try to bring results together on the field,” Mahmudullah said to the media during a light training session at Mirpur Academy Ground in Dhaka Monday. Mahmudullah was dropped from the Test team against Sri Lanka in March this year. But this time around against the Lankans, he will be an important member of the Tigers set-up and Mahmudullah vowed to give his best for the national team.

Pleasant. ? pic.twitter.com/IWLtKqBpdD

— Mahmudullah Riyad (@Mahmudullah30) December 23, 2017

“Whenever you are wearing your national team jersey, you feel extra motivation to perform better. It’s important to prepare yourself better, with honesty and positive intention. I always try to give my best to the team,” he said. “Definitely I am more mature now. I have some experience of captaining sides in domestic cricket. I will try to utilise those experiences. As a team we are a good unit. We have some good and quality senior players in the team. So my role will be easier I think. Now as a team it’s important for us to keep up the good performance,” he added. Mahmudullah scored 310 runs in 12 innings for the Tigers this year at an average of 25.83. Sri Lanka have lost Test, ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka recently but Mahmudullah believes t will be a tough tour for both the teams. And Bangladesh will obviously try to start the year well at home.

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“Sri Lanka are obviously a strong team. Although they lost series’ against India, they will play hard against us. We will have a competitive series. We are confident with our home condition,” he explained. “It’s important for us to perform well in the very first series of the new year. We have some crucial away tours this year. So a good series at home will boost our confidence,” he said. The Tigers’ conditioning camp for the tri-nation series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe starts from Wednesday under the supervision of fitness trainer Mario Villavarayan.