Vice-captain Mahmudullah (L) smiles as interim head coach Courtney Walsh looks on during a press conference at the Sher-e Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday. — BCB photo
Interim head coach Courtney Walsh on Sunday assured that Bangladesh would play fearless cricket against Afghanistan in their forthcoming Twenty20 series in Dehradun, India, scheduled to start from June 3.
The Tigers will leave Dhaka on Tuesday to play three Twenty20 internationals against the Afghans, whom they had faced only once in the shortest format and that was way back in 2014 ICC World T20 at home.
Bangladesh outplayed Afghans in the match by nine wickets but things have changed certainly as the sub-continent rivals of the Tigers have emerged as one of the consistent teams in Twenty20s over the years.
Players like – Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad and Mujeeb ur Rahman were able to establish themselves as solid performers in Twenty20s, helping their side rise to number eight position in the ICC Twenty20 ranking.
Bangladesh on the other hands remained only an occasionally promising side, which kept them languishing at the 10th position in the rankings.
Though the Tigers put up some brilliant performances in the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka in March, the rankings have denied them the favourite status in Afghanistan series, the first ever bilateral series between the teams in shortest format.
‘We have to be confident, and not think about losing,’ Walsh told reporters in a press conference held at Sher-e Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
‘We have a series to play. We have to be positive and back ourselves….Afghanistan has a good team and if we play to our strength and depth, we should come out on top. The moment you are thinking of losing, then you get doubts and you don’t perform at your best,’ he added.
The 55-year old former Caribbean legend was also hopeful to exploit the weakness of the Afghans and wanted to grasp the opportunities to get a positive result out of this.
‘We will be looking at all areas, their strength and weaknesses. They have shown their quality as a team. They will be making their Test debut shortly after us, so I am sure they will be confident and upbeat. We have to seize the opportunity and focus on all areas,’ he added.
Vice-captain Mahmudullah believed that they had a strong chance to win all the matches in the series, which would also boost up their confidence for the next tournaments later after the series.
‘A few days ago there was a question mark on our ability. But now it has gone away,’ said Mahmudullah. ‘We have been improving day by day. The series will be an opportunity to win all the matches. If we can do so, it will create a great opportunity to perform well in the next series,’ he added.
Mahmudullah also believed that Bangladesh would be clearly ahead against Afghanistan in terms of experience they had in their side.
‘It is tough to compare the bowling department of both the sides.
‘If you say about the spinning department, Sakib [al Hasan] is one of the best spinners in the world. He is the best left-arm spinner. Apu [Nazmul Islam] is also doing well. They also have Rashid [Khan], Mujeeb [ur Rahman].
‘Although they have those players, I will say that our bowling attack is wealthier in terms of experience we have,’ he added.
Source: New Age.