Bangladesh’s captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza believes his side has all the abilities to qualify for the semifinals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
The Tigers, in their last two ICC events, have hunted higher ranked opponents to earn their reputation in the global arena. In 2015, Bangladesh overpowered the likes of England, Afghanistan and Scotland in Pool A to cut through to their maiden World Cup quarter finals. In 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, Bangladesh had put Australia and New Zealand behind to make it to the semifinals of the competition.
“We will be going there [England] with the target of playing in the semis. It will be a big achievement. 320 runs is being expected to be the average score there so we should be ready with the mindset. There is no way we can get dismissed scoring 250 runs. We have to be mentally fit,” said Mashrafe in the pre-departure press conference at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Monday.
The Tigers are set to depart from Dhaka on Wednesday for the tri-series in Ireland. Following the 13-day-long series, the Bangladesh World Cup squad will travel to England for the mega event. The format in this year’s World Cup has been slated in a different manner unlike the previous few occasions. Every side has to play nine league stage matches, facing every other team once, and must finish in the top four of the table to move forward in the tournament. It is measured that a team may require at least five wins to seal the semi-final berth.
“[Playing the semifinals] is not an impossible task but a tough task. In the previous World Cup, a win against a big team meant they fell behind in the race. There used to be limited matches and opportunity. This time its nine matches so there will be enough chances for a team to bounce back in the tournament. We need to keep that in mind,” Mashrafe explained.
The Tigers called curtains on their week-long national camp yesterday. Mashrafe is happy with the preparation that will initially be needed in Ireland. Depending on performances in the tri-series involving West Indies and hosts Ireland, changes might be made to the preliminary 15-member Bangladesh squad for the World Cup.
“We have a balanced side for the World Cup. We can do well in the tournament using our experience. I believe everyone that’s in the squad will put their best. A good number of cricketers have experience of playing the World Cup. But that does not guarantee a good result,” said the right-arm pacer.
“We will need to play as a unit. We need to play nine matches and before that, the series in Ireland. There will be tough times and we should be able to fight that as a team. We shall start doing that when in Ireland so that we are ready for the big tournament,” said Mashrafe.
Bangladesh will begin their World Cup campaign when they take on South Africa on May 30.
