Bangladesh right-arm fast bowler Taskin Ahmed pressed on the importance of giving credit where it is due.
The opinion has come on the back of muted celebrations following the Twenty20 international series win at home to Zimbabwe.
The hosts have secured the series 3-0 with two games to spare against the African nation.
Taskin informed that the team are aware of the supporters not giving enough credit to their effort and wins against Zimbabwe, given that Sikandar Raza’s side are lower ranked and considered weak compared to Bangladesh.
“We get less credit for winning against smaller teams. If we lose, they will mock us. Unfortunately, we have to hear a lot of things. When we get out to play, our only goal is to give our best. We want to win the last two games. We have different individual roles, which we try to execute. Results vary but we also want to use these two matches to try out some of our new skills,” said Taskin to the media on the eve of the fourth T20I.
Bangladesh will take on Zimbabwe in the penultimate game of the five-match series at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium with the ambition of stretching the lead in the bilateral series.
The series is Bangladesh’s build-up to the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled to take place in the USA and the West Indies starting next month.
“We are at the moment aiming a good performance in the T20 World Cup. We don't control what conditions we play in or against which opposition we play. We have to give our best in all conditions. If we can get into the T20 World Cup with five or 10 percent improvement, we can then start well in that tournament. There's a lot of talk about Zimbabwe as an opponent but if we lose against them, there will be uproar,” Taskin explained.
Taskin has been notable in the ongoing series for his six wickets in three games at an average of 8.83 and an economy rate of just 4.41.
Zimbabwe's top-order has particularly struggled against him.
The right-arm speedster feels he is in a good shape going into a world event where Bangladesh so far have not seen enough success.
Bangladesh in the last edition of the tournament, held in Australia in 2022, returned home finishing fifth [in a group of six] with two wins in Group 2.
Going into the 20-team tournament this year, Bangladesh will have concerns with the top-order, especially a struggling Liton Das.
“More than anyone, we feel most disappointed when we don't do well with bat or ball. We work hard consistently to improve our batting and bowling. We know that we haven't started with the bat according to expectations. We are working on it. I hope we can do better in these two matches,” said Taskin.