Shakib: Tri-series will not be easy

Bangladesh Test and T20I captain Shakib al Hasan believes the upcoming tri-nation ODI series against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka will not be an easy task, despite the fact that the Tigers would be playing at home. The ace all-rounder also mentioned that the cricketers of both the visiting sides are well aware of the condition in Bangladesh. The BPL 2017 was the most recent occasion when the Zimbabweans and the Lankan cricketers last toured. Zimbabwe had at least three cricketers while Sri Lanka had around eight to nine national cricketers playing the T20 tournament for different franchises. Cricketers from these two nations are also regular participants in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, the premier 50-over tournament in Bangladesh. “We believe we hold a good chance in the series for playing at our favorite venue but the other two teams are also good. We are expecting good competition, given that their players are well aware of the condition in Dhaka. But we as a team are a very good unit now compared to the other teams in the series for which we hold a good chance of performing well,” Shakib explained to the media Thursday.

---

Also read: Tigers exceptional when they play with freedom, says Halsall

---

Shakib was named the new Bangladesh T20I skipper after the veteran Mashrafe bin Mortaza announced his retirement from the shortest format of the game during their tour of Sri Lanka last year. And recently, Shakib was appointed the new Test captain for the second time in his career following a dreadful tour of South Africa under the charge of Mushfiqur Rahim in September last year. Shakib in his earlier term, between 2009 and 2011, had led Bangladesh in nine Test matches. Bangladesh in the upcoming series will be without a long-term coach after the position went vacant following the resignation of Chandika Hathurusingha. The BCB has made an effort to sign a new coach for the Tigers but will not hurry into it. The BCB named Khaled Mahmud as the technical director and Richard Halsall, the BCB High Performance Unit coach, as the assistant coach of the national team for the forthcoming series.

---

Also read: Pacers need to be more consistent, says Mashrafe

---

According to the BCB president Nazmul Hasan the players are comfortable with it and following a meeting with the two Bangladesh captains last week, the BCB boss stated that Shakib and Mashrafe would play the role of coach in the tri-series. However, Shakib, also the vice captain of the Bangladesh ODI team, said there is nothing much to think about regarding his new role. “We all in the team have different roles and everyone is aware of each other’s role. Everyone will try to play those roles and doing that well will get us success. As captain and vice-captain there will be added responsibilities on us (me and Mashrafe) and we are ready for that,” Shakib informed. Meanwhile, the Tigers will play a practice match between themselves at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka Saturday, starting at 12pm.