Published: Aug 06, 2017, 05:22 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 06, 2017, 04:56 PM (IST)
After the infamous CA-ACA dispute coming to an end, Australian cricket team will be travelling to Bangladesh for a two-match Test series later in the month. It is not an unknown fact that Australia have a poor record in the subcontinent, and the home side will bank on it. Bangladesh have come a long way in ODIs, but have to lift their game in Tests. With two convincing performances against England and Sri Lanka in the recent past, Mushfiqur Rahim-led side will look to pose a threat against Steven Smith‘s side. Mushfiqur believes there is self-belief in the camp to play good cricket for 5 days.
Mushfiqur quoted as saying by Cricbuzz, “When England arrived, no one counted on us or believed that we can be competitive against them, let alone win. No matter how weak they are against spin, they have a good track record in the subcontinent. We could not have put up a fight against England for five days, earlier. In the last two to three years, some talented players arrived in our team who inspire us to win against big teams. We have that self belief in us and now we have to play good cricket for five days. If we can use the home condition and play to our potential, I don’t think it is impossible to beat Australia. To be honest, if we can play our best cricket, we can beat any team in the world because we have that ability. Earlier, we had to play well while others had to play badly if we wanted to achieve success but that is not the case now. We have played few ODIs against Australia but no Test matches against them. This will be a big occasion. We have always heard that Australia play aggressive cricket. We are ready to play against them with an aggressive mindset.”
On his challenges as skipper of a side who lack a genuine leg-spinner or frontline seamer, Mushfiqur told, “It’s difficult to perform consistently in Test cricket due to the lack of players. No matter how good you play, you got to have bowlers to get 20 wickets if you want to win a Test. It is true against any opponent. Probably we are a bit behind in this aspect as we don’t have a genuine leg spinner or a pace spearhead. But at the same time, we have been able to produce some bowlers during the last two to three years like Mustafizur (Rahman) and Miraj (Mehedi). If they can play (well) for another two to three years, hopefully it will help to us to become a better Test side.” He also pointed out a valid difference between Tests and other formats. He added, “Unlike the other formats where by playing well for a couple of hours (you can win matches), in Test cricket you need to play well for five days, session by session, to earn victory. Probably they will need a year or two to adapt to it and then we can turn out to be a good side.”
Mushfiqur mentioned about the core of the team and the players he looks upto. “I always look forward to my openers. Tamim (Iqbal), in one word, is incredible. The way he is batting for the last three to four years and the kind of consistency he has shown, it is not very common in world cricket. It is a kind of inspiration for us to have someone like him in the team. There is Shakib (Al Hasan) and Riad (Mahmudullah), while youngsters like Soumya (Sarkar) and Mossadek are not far behind. There is Mominul (Haque), and to be honest we think our batting unit is better than some other Test playing nations. Whether in Test cricket or in other formats, our top seven is quite consistent. I think every player has developed a lot individually, and it helps the team in the long run. The main challenge for us is that we play very little Test cricket, and when that happens, it becomes difficult. I am happy that Australia (are coming for the Test series) and we are prepared for that. Our preparation to face them has been very good”, concluded an optimistic Bangladeshi Test skipper.
