Mushfiqur hopes for momentum to pull his side through
“The Asia Cup was a huge step up for us. We beat India and Sri Lanka. If we had luck going our way may be we would have beaten Pakistan in the final as well. Now, if we can build on the Asia Cup form it would be great for us,’’ said Mushfiqur at the pre-event media conference on Thursday.
Bangladesh enters the tournament after playing a number of Twenty20 games against Zimbabwe, Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland. Just days before arriving in Colombo, Bangladesh travelled to Trinidad and Tobago to play a twenty20 tournament as well.
Mushfiqur therefore believes his side has had the right build-up. “The boys are shaping up really well. We have had a good preparation for the last three months. We played 12 games and won nine. Couple of our guys have also been playing here in the SLPL (Sri Lanka Premier League). So it is looking good for us,’’ said Mushfiqur.
The Bangladesh wicket-keeper batsman believes that momentum will be a huge factor at the ICC World Twenty20 2012 and is keen that his side gets on a roll.
“If we grab the momentum anything is possible. It is not impossible in this format for any team to be beaten. We are very confident about our chances. The two warm-up matches are therefore important for us to take some momentum into the tournament,’’ said Mushfiqur.
Bangladesh is scheduled to play its games at Pallekele, a venue reputed to assist seamers. Hence Bangladesh’s band of left-arm spinners may not have the assistance that they are looking for from those pitches.
“We have couple of good left-arm spinners and couple of very good all-rounders including Shakib (Al Hasan). We are even prepared for the Pallekele track as our pace attack is also very balanced,’’ added Mushfiqur.
An area of concern could be that star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is still recovering from an injury, but Mushfiqur is not too concerned and believes that he will be fit. “He has bit of a niggle, but he will rest enough and be ready to go when the tournament starts,’’ informed Mushfiqur.