Nafees: Bangladesh can beat any team on their day

Former national opening batsman Nafees Iqbal believes Bangladesh can beat any team on their day but admitted that the Tigers have to play commanding and competitive cricket to beat defending champion India in the second semi-final of the 2017 Champions Trophy at Edgbaston on Thursday. "As a team, Bangladesh have improved a lot these days. We proved it in this tournament that even from a critical position, we can turn around the game, just like the way Shakib [al Hasan] and Mahmudullah won the match against New Zealand. But to be honest, from a cricketing aspect, India are stronger. We have to perform well in every department, be it bowling, batting and fielding, to beat India," said Nafees. "It has to be Bangladesh's day if they are to win the semi-final. And one more thing, India had a bad day against Sri Lanka in this tournament. So they might be more cautious now. But that doesn’t mean that India are unbeatable. The way Bangladesh are playing, on their day they can beat any team in the world,” he added. Nafees’ younger brother Tamim Iqbal is in good form at the top of the order. But the two other important players at the top, Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman, are not getting big scores. Nafees however, believes Soumya and Sabbir are game-changers and hoped that they would play well on Thursday and give the Tigers a good start. "Soumya and Sabbir scored some runs in the tournament. But they need to score more. If they are able to score more consistently at the top, then the senior players could play with less pressure. It’s good that Tamim is in good form. He has a good record against India," said Nafees. "And Shakib also has a good record. If Tamim amd Shakib can shine then we have a good chance (to win). But at the same time Soumya and Sabbir are dangerous players at the top of the order. They are kind of game-changers on their day. So hopefully everybody will click and bring glory for Bangladesh,” he added.