With the fresh memory of clinching the three-match ODI series against India, Bangladesh will face their mighty neighbour in the opening match of the five-team 13th Asia Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Wednesday.
The first match of the maiden T20 format Asia Cup Cricket will start at 7:30pm (BST).
Mashrafe Mortaza speaks at a Press Conference Photo:BCB
On the eve of the match, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza expressed his determination and confidence to do better in the ensuing Asia Cup ahead of the next-month World T20 in India.
Addressing a pre-match press conference at a city hotel on Tuesday, Mashrafe has talked about Mustafiz, the experimentation in the Zimbabwe series, his plans and the challenges and various other issues.
He thinks that the experimentation done in the series against Zimbabwe was needed and at this stage there is no room for such experiments to be carried on. “The Asia Cup is an important tournament itself and not only that the tournament is an important one as it sits right on the brink of the World T20.”
The skipper also believes that his team will miss Tamim in the tournament. “Tamim has been a consistent performer for our side for a long time and he is currently at the peak of his form. We will miss him because he has always been our best performer.”
He also backed Imrul and Mithun and did mention that Imrul has the experience and that is why he is in the side.
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“India is one of the best teams in the world and to defeat them, we need to be up to the mark at all three departments,” Mashrafe said. He feels that rather than thinking about the result of the match, his team needs to play good cricket and that’s what is important.
Mashrafe feels that Mustafiz has been very calm ever since he came to the limelight and he has continued to be on that path. Mustafiz has been one of the most talked about player in world cricket and the funny part Mashrafe said, “…he doesn’t know much about this and even if he does, he doesn’t think much about it.”
The Bangladesh captain also said that the team has not come to a decision about the batting order at this point yet but he did mention that all the 15 players are fit to play. He did disclose that he has a thought in mind, but did not disclose the thought at the brief.
Coming back to Mustafiz, who has been at the centre of the light at this brief, Bangladesh skipper said that the pace sensation always stays confident and uses his strength in various modes. “He doesn’t think much about a specific batsman before a match, rather keeps faith on his performances.” Mashrafe also brought down a cloud of laughter in the room saying, “He is only afraid to bowl against me.”
Right at the closure of the press briefing, the Bangladesh skipper said, “What we can do is not to worry about any failure, but play cricket. We had been unsuccessful at this format of the game, that doesn’t mean we can never do well here. At this moment, what is needed is to do is go and play in the field and not think about what is going to happen.”
Prior to the press conference, the trophy of the tournament was unveiled in the presence of the captains of the five participating teams.
This is the first time the Asia Cup is witnessing T20 format and the inclusion of an associate nation through four-team qualifying round.
ICC associate nation United Arab Emirates (UAE) joined the four Asian Test nations, including hosts Bangladesh, defending champions Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India, in the main round battle to compete in the five-nation meet.
ICC’s three other associate nations-- Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Oman -- fought for the lone spot in the main round.
Bangladesh is hosting the Asia Cup Cricket for the 5th time and the 3rd time in a row.
Bangladesh squad (probable): Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Nurul Hasan, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (captain), Arafat Sunny, Mustafizur Rahman and Al-Amin Hossain.
India squad (probable): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain)/ Parthiv Patel, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah and Ashish Nehra.
