Brave Tigers leave for Pakistan

New AgeJan 22,2020

Bangladesh cricket team players share some thoughts prior to their departure for Pakistan at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Wednesday night. — BCB photo

Bangladesh cricket team players on Wednesday left all security worries at home and boarded the plane for Pakistan aiming to win all of the matches in their three-match Twenty20 series in the neighbouring country, starting from January 24.

The 15-man Bangladesh squad left for Lahore, Pakistan in a special chartered plane from the Hazrat Shahjaal International Airport in the capital at night.

The series will finally kick-start after a lengthy dispute between the two nations’ cricket boards, which finally ended with them deciding to hold the tour in three different phases.

The first phase constituting the three-match Twenty20 series will begin on Friday at the Gaddafi Stadium and the next two matches of the series will take place at the same venue on January 25 and 27 respectively.

The Tigers are scheduled to head back home on January 28, which will mark the end of the first phase.

After much off-field drama about the security condition in Pakistan, the Mahmudullah-led side now must shift their focus on their task at hand, as they will have to take on the number one ranked Twenty20 side in the world in an unfamiliar territory.

But the team had put aside all security concern, claimed pacer Shafiul Islam, as the players trusted the board to arrange the best possible security arrangements for them.

‘No, we are not tensed. The board is ensuring our safety, so there is no tension. I hope that we can return home after playing some good cricket and with good results,’ Shafiul told reporters at the airport.

Wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Mithun said that the team was only aiming for victory against Pakistan and he hoped to play his role with the bat to help the team in their triumph.

‘We will definitely play every game to win. We want to play match by match and give our best,’ Mithun said.

‘Personally, wherever I get to bat at I want to provide for the team. There will be a different situation in every match. Whatever the situation is, I want to give my best,’ he added.