Bangladesh pacer Mashrafe bin Mortaza, who returned to international action in the ongoing New Zealand series after almost a year, did not take much time to make his presence felt, he has performed well so far and he said that they are only looking forward to win the last match of the series.
“We haven’t talked about a whitewash, for us winning this match is important, after that we can probably talk about the whitewash, before that we can’t talk about it,” said Mashrafe at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National stadium yesterday.
The 30-year-old also reminded everyone that there is no room for complacency after the two wins and that he wants to hold on to the flow to finish the series positively, “Actually, I don’t think there is any room for satisfaction. We have to hold the winning flow. Playing international cricket after a long time, there is a bit of pressure physically and from every side. So since we have a flow, it’s important to hold on to it,” he added.
However the Narail Express said that the Bangladesh team has more room for improvement as he thinks the batting department is yet to click.
“If I talk about the last two matches, I won’t say that we played well and won the matches. We made a lot of mistakes, they did a few more mistakes than us and that’s the reason why we won. Yeah, fielding and bowling we were up to the mark but in the batting, for instance in the first match, we lost quick wickets and in the second match too we couldn’t grow any partnerships, so the combined performance has not yet taken place,” he said.
Mashrafe battled with injuries throughout his career and had gone through 11 major surgeries on his legs. He planned his comeback this time after sustaining an ankle injury earlier this year. “After the injury this time, I tried to get back into the team for four to five months, for the Sri Lankan series and the Zimbabwean series and I couldn’t. I planned differently, worked with Stuart, so these plans were very organised and he helped me a lot. And when Bangladesh team returned to the country [from Zimbabwe] the fitness camp began. So all together, the focus was to improve in every aspect that helped me,” Mashrafe added.
The Narail Express also said that the fast bowling department is doing very good for Bangladesh and praised the improvement wherby the fast bowlers are now ready to contribute to the team’s win.
“This is a positive thing, the pace bowling departmentm, after the pacers give a good start it helps the spinners, so in that aspect when the pacers help win the match there is a growth in confidence. Yes we can help them win matches on these wickets,” said Mashrafe.
He also said that they no longer rely on Shakib al Hasan and that the current team has the confidence to play against any side in the world in their own backyard. He added that they will have the same focus in the future also.