Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza understandably was a dejected man with his team faltering in the final hurdle of the Asia Cup in what could have been Bangladesh’s biggest achievement in their cricketing history.
The right arm pacer stressed on the importance of brushing aside the setback of the defeat against India ahead of their World T-20 campaign. With Bangladesh scheduled to play Netherlands in World Cup qualifying game in a couple of days, Mashrafe wants his troops to head to India in an affirmative mindset.
“We are taking a lot of positives from the tournament as we have a played the final which is a huge achievement. But in two days we have a qualifying match in the World T20. We have to qualify first and then also we will be in the group of death. We have to be mentally ready and ensure that this final loss does not affect us as playing in India is a tough thing,” stated the Bangladeshi captain at the post match
The all-rounder also had a plea for his country’s fans as he urged them to be a bit more persistent with his team.
“I know they had all kept their work aside and expected that we gift them a memorable victory. But we have a good team and these prayers have been with us. We would request them to be patient with us. Today had we scored 20 runs more, the contest would have been more even. The toss became crucial and also the pitch became better for batting in the second half”, Mortaza said.
‘We have a got a team that has balance and potential’
The 32-year old stated that ICC World T-20 would be a fresh tournament and his team needs to start from the scratch.
“We have to start from zero. We have a got a team that has balance and potential. The boys have self-belief. But one needs to understand that T20 is such a format, where it is very difficult to win every game," the skipper said.
He also added,"It was a huge scope for us (Asia Cup) but then a lot of people did not expect us to reach the finals but we did reach the finals. I have full confidence that the future of Bangladesh cricket is very bright”.
With Mashrafe already having stated that the ICC World T-20 will be his last ICC event before he retires, it needs to be seen if his team can give him something to cherish for a lifetime.
