Ahead of his team’s ICC T20 World Cup match against Netherlands, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto backed his team to reach the Super Eights stage, saying they have played good cricket in the tournament so far. Bangladesh will face the Netherlands in a crucial Group D clash at Kingstown on Thursday. Bangladesh are second in Group D with one win and one loss, giving them two points. The Netherlands are in third place in the group with wins and losses as well. Both teams are competing for a place in the Super Eight stage of the tournament.
Speaking before the game at the pre-match press conference, Shanto said: “Yes, as I said, we played some good cricket here. And we are very confident that the team we have this time, if we play to our strength, we should go for the Super Eights.”
Asked about the four-run defeat to South Africa in the previous match, the captain said such things happen in cricket and the team is happy with their performance.
“And here we had a very good training session today. A little hot, but the boys have adapted and I hope we have a very good match,” she added.
Shanto said no one in the team is worried about the form of all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan. The veteran has contributed just 97 runs and six wickets in his last eight T20Is.
“It’s important to know how much he expects than people’s expectations. He’s doing his best and working hard. He’s already in good condition. I hope he performs well tomorrow,” he continued.
He also clarified that there is nothing wrong with Shakib’s eyes and he is practicing well in the nets.
“Only one or two innings can go wrong in this format. I don’t feel any pressure as captain. return,” Shanto added.
Shanto also said that he enjoyed the support from the fans so far and hopes that they will also come to this game.
Talking about the team’s batting performance, he said that Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy are among the players who are doing well.
“I never expect all seven batsmen to play well. I want the batsman who is stepping up, be it top order or middle order, to finish the game. I want the batsmen who are stepping up to finish the game,” he added.
Shanto also said conditions in Kingstown are much better than New York and Texas, but the wind is a challenge.
“So there is a little help for the pitchers, from what I understand after batting here. Hopefully we bowl a good wicket tomorrow, but we don’t know yet. “, he concluded.
Squads:
Dutch team: Michael Levitt, Max ODowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards(w/c), Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma, Saqib Zulfiqar, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Wesley Barresi
Bangladesh team: Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Litton Das(w), Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman, Mahedi Hasan, Tanvir Islam, Shoriful Islam, Soumya Sarkar.
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