Publish : 16 Oct 2021, 08:44 AMUpdate : 15 Dec 2021, 03:42 PM
Member of the national selection panel Habibul Bashar is not worried of the under-par performance during the warm-up games of Bangladesh cricket team going into the T20 World Cup 2021 in Oman and the UAE.
Bangladesh as a part of their preparation played three warm matches – against Oman A team and Sri Lanka and Ireland in the two official practice matches.
Bangladesh dominated Oman A side but struggled against Sri Lanka and Ireland, losing both the games.
Against Sri Lanka, the side lost by four wickets defending 147 and then failed to chase 178 against Ireland.
Bangladesh were bowled out for 144 runs against the Irish team and in both games, the top-order struggled.
Bashar is convinced that Bangladesh will lift their performance when they start the World Cup campaign taking on Scotland in the first match at Al Amerat Stadium in Muscat Sunday.
The former Bangladesh captain backed his belief citing that Bangladesh did not play their best XI in the practice matches with key players Shakib al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman and captain Mahmudullah missing.
“We played well at home and the team are confident enough. I do not want to measure the team with the performance in the practice games. We do not want to think much about it. We have now enough ideas on what to expect in the T20 World Cup, of the challenges that we are going to face. I think we are ready. The team performance will be up to the mark when we start playing the qualifying matches first,” said Bashar to the media in Muscat Friday.
“The first practice game [against Oman A team] was all good. We did well in both batting and bowling. In the two official practice matches in Abu Dhabi against Sri Lanka and Ireland, expectation was definitely higher but we tried a few things in those matches. Our main XI was missing in those games – Mustafizur had just returned from IPL, we did not have Shakib and our captain Mahmudullah couldn’t play [due to back pain].
"So we couldn’t play our best team but we were assessing how others took the opportunity. We had expected more with the batting as the condition in Abu Dhabi was good to bat on. We expected someone to score runs in the top order. As a team I think we are confident but definitely we would have been better off if the practice matches had went well for us."
Bangladesh are yet to put up a remarkable show in the T20 world event.
Bangladesh since the inception of the format of the game struggled as one of the lowest ranked sides and only very recently climbed up the chart – to No 6 – riding on series wins against Zimbabwe, Australia and New Zealand.
In order to put up a strong show in the world event, the team’s best players need to be in form, said Bashar.
“It is very important to have the key players of the team in form in a big tournament like the T20 World Cup. There are many occasions when big players lose form coming into the big event. I hope that all our players can play to their potential and be in form. Injury is definitely a concern. There won’t be big breaks between the games in the qualifying round," said Bashar.
“We will have to play three games with a day's gap in between matches. There will be a bit of a break if we can make to the main round. T20 World Cup matches are of tremendous pressure. The opponents come to the tournament with best of preparations and everyone aims to do well so it becomes important to avoid mistakes and to not create opportunities for the opponent. You need to play your best game to get the best result in the T20 World Cup,” said the Bangladesh selector touring with the team in the Middle East.
Bashar not worried of practice matches’ result
Member of the national selection panel Habibul Bashar is not worried of the under-par performance during the warm-up games of Bangladesh cricket team going into the T20 World Cup 2021 in Oman and the UAE.
Bangladesh as a part of their preparation played three warm matches – against Oman A team and Sri Lanka and Ireland in the two official practice matches.
Bangladesh dominated Oman A side but struggled against Sri Lanka and Ireland, losing both the games.
Against Sri Lanka, the side lost by four wickets defending 147 and then failed to chase 178 against Ireland.
Bangladesh were bowled out for 144 runs against the Irish team and in both games, the top-order struggled.
Bashar is convinced that Bangladesh will lift their performance when they start the World Cup campaign taking on Scotland in the first match at Al Amerat Stadium in Muscat Sunday.
The former Bangladesh captain backed his belief citing that Bangladesh did not play their best XI in the practice matches with key players Shakib al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman and captain Mahmudullah missing.
“We played well at home and the team are confident enough. I do not want to measure the team with the performance in the practice games. We do not want to think much about it. We have now enough ideas on what to expect in the T20 World Cup, of the challenges that we are going to face. I think we are ready. The team performance will be up to the mark when we start playing the qualifying matches first,” said Bashar to the media in Muscat Friday.
“The first practice game [against Oman A team] was all good. We did well in both batting and bowling. In the two official practice matches in Abu Dhabi against Sri Lanka and Ireland, expectation was definitely higher but we tried a few things in those matches. Our main XI was missing in those games – Mustafizur had just returned from IPL, we did not have Shakib and our captain Mahmudullah couldn’t play [due to back pain].
"So we couldn’t play our best team but we were assessing how others took the opportunity. We had expected more with the batting as the condition in Abu Dhabi was good to bat on. We expected someone to score runs in the top order. As a team I think we are confident but definitely we would have been better off if the practice matches had went well for us."
Bangladesh are yet to put up a remarkable show in the T20 world event.
Bangladesh since the inception of the format of the game struggled as one of the lowest ranked sides and only very recently climbed up the chart – to No 6 – riding on series wins against Zimbabwe, Australia and New Zealand.
In order to put up a strong show in the world event, the team’s best players need to be in form, said Bashar.
“It is very important to have the key players of the team in form in a big tournament like the T20 World Cup. There are many occasions when big players lose form coming into the big event. I hope that all our players can play to their potential and be in form. Injury is definitely a concern. There won’t be big breaks between the games in the qualifying round," said Bashar.
“We will have to play three games with a day's gap in between matches. There will be a bit of a break if we can make to the main round. T20 World Cup matches are of tremendous pressure. The opponents come to the tournament with best of preparations and everyone aims to do well so it becomes important to avoid mistakes and to not create opportunities for the opponent. You need to play your best game to get the best result in the T20 World Cup,” said the Bangladesh selector touring with the team in the Middle East.
Topics: