Bangladesh cricket team join a practice session yesterday in Mirpur. -AA
Bangladesh are better skill-wise compared to Afghanistan which would give them a better chance to win the forthcoming Twenty20 series, team manager Khaled Mahmud said.Bangladesh will travel to Dehradun on May 29 for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. The three games will be played on June 3, 5 and 7 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun.
After a week of fitness training, Tigers have begun their skill training for the series that is expected to test their batsmen caliber as they will be put up against one of the best spin attack in the world currently.Wary of Afghanistan's strong spin attack, which boasted the presence of talented Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman, Bangladesh led a full-strength squad for the three-match series, beginning on June 3.
'I think in terms of skills, Bangladesh are a better side,' Mahmud told reporters in Mirpur. 'Our batting, bowling is better than them. Yes, they got world-class spinners. But they were not a well-balanced side. If we can play better cricket and maintain the discipline, we can beat Afghanistan any time and any day,' he added.
Mahmud was delighted with the performances of the players in the skill training camp that began on Monday after a week-long fitness drill. 'We think that everyone is in good touch. The batsmen have done well in the nets and the bowlers have also tried really hard...the players are doing bowling, fielding like they normally do in Twenty20s.'
Bangladesh team was expected to leave Dhaka on May 29 and Mahmud informed that their interim coach Courtney Walsh would join them on Thursday.'Courtney will arrive here tomorrow [today]. He may start work with the team from 24th,' he said. The Tigers are currently ranked 10th whereas their sub-continental opposition is ranked eighth in the latest ICC Twenty20 ranking.
Bangladesh will have the opportunity to improve their ranking in the Twenty20 format in their forthcoming series as a 3-0 win over Afghanistan will take them to the number ninth spot in the ICC Twenty20 ranking'We will progress in the ranking if we win the series. However, we are not thinking about the rankings. We are capable of beating Afghanistan. We're a good side in any condition,' he added.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Mosaddek Hossain expressed his confidence to repay the selectors after he was drafted back into the national Twenty20 squad for three-match series against Afghanistan.
Mosaddek was recalled in the national Twenty20 side after a gap of more than one year having played his last Twenty20 international match against Sri Lanka in April last year. The right-handed batsman, who missed most of the action in the previous season due to an eye infection, regained selectors' confidence after a solid performance in recent domestic matches. 'This is a new opportunity for me,' Mosaddek told reporters in Mirpur.
'I have a belief in myself. It is usual for a player to have good or bad times. I spent some bad times but don't know what lied in future. But I'll try to give my best,' he added. Mosaddek had a roller-coaster ride last year after being ruled out of home Test series against Australia for the eye illness.
He made a comeback in the field through Bangladesh Premier League in November but failed to win back a place in the tri-series squad at home this year.He was selected in the Test squad against Sri Lanka in February but was inexplicably dropped after just one match, in which he had a match-saving cameo in the second innings.
He failed to get a place in the squad for subsequent Twenty20 series at home and Nidahas Trophy tri-series in Sri Lanka.Mosaddek claimed that he didn't want to think about his past and wanted to play confidently in the upcoming matches for the Tigers.
'I played confidently on most of the occasions when I represented the national team….It was a break for me and a thing of past. I'm not thinking about it. I am just focusing on next series,' he said.
Part of the reason for the selectors to recall Mosaddek is his spin bowling, which left him with a chance to make an all-around impact. With Mehedi Hasan yet to regain his full fitness, selectors believed Mosaddek could play as back-up.
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