A cool breeze was blowing over the Tigers as they reached Birmingham on Sunday once again after their defeat in the warm-up match against Pakistan two weeks ago.
All of a sudden, the belief and self confidence of the players have risen significantly while their mentality has changed drastically but they are not getting carried away after their qualification for the semi-finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy.
The Tigers looked more focused and it seems like they now have a new mission, which is the last four of the flagship ICC event. There were no scheduled training sessions for the Bangladesh players on Monday in the Midlands.
However, the pacemen including skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain did spend some time in the gym.
The others stayed back at the hotel as Shakib al Hasan seemed relaxed after completing his breakfast at Hyatt Regency Hotel. Mushfiqur Rahim also looked in fine mood as he, along with his wife, went out for shopping.
Moments later, Tigers batting consultant Thilan Samaraweera appeared with a smile.
“How are you?” Samaraweera politely asked a few journalists who were present at the team hotel. He was asked to share his thoughts on the semi-final encounter against India.
“You never know, if Sri Lanka can do it, why can’t we?” Samaraweera replied confidently.
Samaraweera was not there with the Tigers when they were defeated by India in the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. He was also not present when India beat Bangladesh by one run in their infamous 2016 World T20 clash in Bangalore.
The former Lankan batsman was appointed as Bangladesh's batting consultant in September last year. His contract was later extended till the Champions Trophy.
When this reporter queried if he can be the lucky charm for the Tigers this time around, he said with a smile, “May be I can be the lucky charm for Bangladesh.” He then went for a walk outside the hotel.
Later, Tigers head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who was heading towards Edgbaston from the team hotel, appeared in a good mood.
This correspondent asked Hathurusingha, “Coach, India again!”
Hathurusingha replied, “We are heading towards the right direction. You never know, we can be third time lucky as you remember the 2015 quarter-final and also the group game against India in the World T20 last year. You can’t say anything. We can be lucky coming in the third time.”
There may be a lot of talks going on as to whether the Tigers can finally get the better of India. Hathurusingha believes if the Tigers can continue their momentum and do things right on the day, a win will not be that far away.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
