Published: Jun 08, 2015, 03:20 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 08, 2015, 03:26 PM (IST)
Fatullah: Bangladesh‘s top all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan feels that a series against India can always prove to be beneficial as playing the most glamorous outfit in cricket world helps the minnows grab eyeballs and attract sponsors if they do well.
For Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim, it gives him “an extra motivation”, while Tamim Iqbal more realistically wants to win atleast “one of the three ODI matches”.
Bangladesh’s only representative in Indian Premier League (IPL), Shakib’s view about what an India series means to the team were pretty matter-of-fact. READ: Indian players arrive at Dhaka on Monday
“For me, an India series means that you can attract the attention of potential sponsors,” Shakib was quoted as saying by Bangladesh’s leading daily Prothom Aalo ahead of the one -off Test match against India starting from Wednesday. READ: India tour of Bangladesh 2015: Bowling on dead wickets not a concern, says Ishant Sharma
For Mushfiqur, the series against India is a platform where they can prove that the recent 3-0 ODI series win against Pakistan was not a fluke.
“For me, playing against India gives me extra motivation as the entire cricketing world will be watching the series with a lot of interest. When we beat Pakistan in the ODI series, critics said that it was not a quality team. So there is extra bit of motivation for me to do well against India,” Mushfiqur said. READ: Harbhajan Singh: Virat Kohli is a match-winner and always wants to win
For attacking left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal, the expectations are quite realistic.
“We would try our best and play to win the Test match but for all practical purposes, I would like to win atleast one ODI match during the three-match series,” said Tamim, whose six against Zaheer Khan during their upset win in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, is part of folklore in both countries.
