Former Bangladesh captain and current selector Habibul Bashar believes that the Tigers have what it takes to beat reigning world champions England in the upcoming white-ball home series starting on March 1.
Bangladesh will go into the contest with the confidence of a series win against India and have started to ramp up preparations to tackle the English challenge. The Jos Buttler-led side arrived in the country on Friday to take part in the three-match ODI series followed by three T20Is, their first time in the Tiger’s den since 2016.
“We have beaten the big teams and not just at home as we managed to beat South Africa in their den. I think among all the series victories, the win against South Africa is one of the best as it is difficult to beat South Africa in their own conditions,” Bashar told the media on Friday.
“We have been performing consistently in the fifty-over format against all the sides. India also came to Bangladesh with a strong squad and we beat them too and there’s no reason why we can’t beat England. There are no easy opponents in international cricket. England are a very strong team but if we can continue to play with the kind of consistency with which we have been playing, there is a good possibility to win the series,” he added.
The 50-year-old, however, preached caution of the probable threat from the white-ball champions and asserted that the Tigers would need to play their best game to win against England.
“Look India were our biggest test considering the subcontinental conditions in mind but I won’t keep any particular side ahead. Definitely, England are playing a different sort of cricket in all the formats but teams like India and South Africa are also very good sides. If we want to win we all need to play better cricket,” he said.
“It’s not like we need to do something completely different against England. If we can do what we have been doing which is playing consistent cricket then I don’t think we have to do something different,” he added.