Bangladesh captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto pledged that the team would try to perform well in the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup in order to give proper farewell to the two senior men in the side in Shakib al Hasan and Mahmudullah.
The world event, to be hosted jointly by the USA and the West Indies, is being considered as Shakib-Mahmudullah’s last with the duo reaching the twilight of their illustrious careers.
Captain in all formats of cricket for Bangladesh, Shanto while speaking to the media Wednesday at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium said the young group wants to create good memories for the senior duo.
Bangladesh team are scheduled to leave Dhaka in the early hours of Thursday for the United States to play a three-match T20 International series with the hosts as build-up to the multination T20 event.
“I am not sure if it will be the last World Cup for Mahmudullah and Shakib but this is just a perception. They served the country for a long time, so we the young players will definitely want to give them some good memories. This is definitely a responsibility of the young players,” said Shanto.
“The team is not looking for anything extra from them [Shakib and Mahmudullah]. The team will be benefitted if they perform as per their roles. What we want to see is that they spread their experience in the dressing room so that improvements can be made and we can achieve results,” he added.
Bangladesh, pitted in Group D in the T20 World Cup, will face South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, and Nepal.
They will begin their campaign taking on the Lankans on June 8 in Dallas, USA.
Bangladesh will need at least three wins to make it to the second round and Shanto is upbeat of overcoming the hurdle.
“I think we have to make small plans to get through the first round. We are in a strong group. It will be difficult. There's no big or small team in T20s. If we play well on a particular day, we can beat any team,” said Shanto.
Inclusion of wicketkeeper-batter Liton Das, despite a long run of below par performance, has raised eyebrows in the cricket fraternity.
Shanto while defending the decision said the selection group did not want to include a new name in the team right ahead of a big event.
There is also a debate on the selection of Tanzim Hasan Sakib in place of all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin, despite the latter being part of the provisional team which was submitted to the International Cricket Council on April 30.
“Liton is a very important player to the team. He hasn't had a good time recently and it can happen to any cricketer. We didn't want to bring in a new player in such a big event and we valued Liton's experience,” said Shanto.
“Coach, myself and the three selectors have been discussing selection even before the Zimbabwe series. We took a collective decision with the squad. Sakib bowls faster than Saifuddin, who hasn't performed to our expectations. They were close, but we had more confidence in Sakib as an overall package,” Shanto explained.
