Groudsmen bring the covers in on Thursday afternoon prior to the fall of rain at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur DHAKA TRIBUNEEngland will be missing their regular ODI skipper Eoin Morgan and in-form opening batsman Alex Hales after they opted out from the tour citing security concern.
But according to the Tigers skipper, England have been playing good cricket in recent times and the absence of these two players won’t make the visitors any weaker.
“First of all I would like to say without these two players England are not going to be any weaker as they have some very exciting players who can change the game single-handedly. I feel England are still a very good side. We are really excited to play against England,” he said.
Bangladesh have the mental edge over England as the Tigers managed to beat today's opposition in their last two World Cup encounters.
With that said, Mashrafe informed that England are a much better side now and it will be a tough ask for the home side in the upcoming series.
“Those two matches are obviously good memories for us. But everyone is talking about the recent wins and as a player there is no point thinking about those matches. What matters now is this series and our focus is certainly there,” he said.
“We beat England in Australia in the World Cup. It was one and a half years ago. Since then, England have changed. They have played like a champion team if you look at their performance and form in the last one and a half years. They won most of the series they played.
“Obviously England played really good cricket and most of them have played the IPL (Indian Premier League) so they know the conditions as well. I don’t think it's going to be a problem for them to play in these sort of conditions. But I would also like to say our boys have been playing well for the last two years. We are thinking of how we can improve our game,” he concluded.The scenario would have been totally different even two years ago in a Bangladesh-England match. However, a lot has changed since then so much so that Bangladesh limited-over skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza can rightly expect yet another series win at home.
Bangladesh have grown from strength to strength and despite coming from a 10-month gap in ODIs, the Tigers overcame their lackings against Afghanistan which will surely give them confidence when they face England on Friday in the first game of the three-match series.
“Actually, I don’t think no one has to prove anything here. But in each of our series, if you think about our situation we are playing well. If we think about holding onto our good form then every series is important for us,” Mashrafe told the media in Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Thursday.
“This is just another new series and we are very excited. If we can play well and win, it will feel really good,” he said.
Groudsmen bring the covers in on Thursday afternoon prior to the fall of rain at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur DHAKA TRIBUNEEngland will be missing their regular ODI skipper Eoin Morgan and in-form opening batsman Alex Hales after they opted out from the tour citing security concern.
But according to the Tigers skipper, England have been playing good cricket in recent times and the absence of these two players won’t make the visitors any weaker.
“First of all I would like to say without these two players England are not going to be any weaker as they have some very exciting players who can change the game single-handedly. I feel England are still a very good side. We are really excited to play against England,” he said.
Bangladesh have the mental edge over England as the Tigers managed to beat today's opposition in their last two World Cup encounters.
With that said, Mashrafe informed that England are a much better side now and it will be a tough ask for the home side in the upcoming series.
“Those two matches are obviously good memories for us. But everyone is talking about the recent wins and as a player there is no point thinking about those matches. What matters now is this series and our focus is certainly there,” he said.
“We beat England in Australia in the World Cup. It was one and a half years ago. Since then, England have changed. They have played like a champion team if you look at their performance and form in the last one and a half years. They won most of the series they played.
“Obviously England played really good cricket and most of them have played the IPL (Indian Premier League) so they know the conditions as well. I don’t think it's going to be a problem for them to play in these sort of conditions. But I would also like to say our boys have been playing well for the last two years. We are thinking of how we can improve our game,” he concluded.
Groudsmen bring the covers in on Thursday afternoon prior to the fall of rain at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur DHAKA TRIBUNEEngland will be missing their regular ODI skipper Eoin Morgan and in-form opening batsman Alex Hales after they opted out from the tour citing security concern.
But according to the Tigers skipper, England have been playing good cricket in recent times and the absence of these two players won’t make the visitors any weaker.
“First of all I would like to say without these two players England are not going to be any weaker as they have some very exciting players who can change the game single-handedly. I feel England are still a very good side. We are really excited to play against England,” he said.
Bangladesh have the mental edge over England as the Tigers managed to beat today's opposition in their last two World Cup encounters.
With that said, Mashrafe informed that England are a much better side now and it will be a tough ask for the home side in the upcoming series.
“Those two matches are obviously good memories for us. But everyone is talking about the recent wins and as a player there is no point thinking about those matches. What matters now is this series and our focus is certainly there,” he said.
“We beat England in Australia in the World Cup. It was one and a half years ago. Since then, England have changed. They have played like a champion team if you look at their performance and form in the last one and a half years. They won most of the series they played.
“Obviously England played really good cricket and most of them have played the IPL (Indian Premier League) so they know the conditions as well. I don’t think it's going to be a problem for them to play in these sort of conditions. But I would also like to say our boys have been playing well for the last two years. We are thinking of how we can improve our game,” he concluded.