Blessing in disguise
Bangladesh coach Shane Jurgensen believes that the first round games in the ICC World Twenty20 for the Tigers have turned out to be a blessing in disguise, with the wins helping the hosts turn their form around.
Speaking to reporters yesterday ahead of their must-win encounter against Hong Kong in Chittagong, the Australian said, "I think this has been a fantastic opportunity for us to play. Nine months ago when all the talks of [Bangladesh] playing this qualifying stage happened, we were all worried about it.
"Behind all that I felt that if we played to our potential at this stage, we have four pressurised games ahead and we can have an impact that we can take into the next stage," said Jurgensen.
Following nine consecutive defeats, during the Sri Lanka series and the Asia Cup this year, the players and the team management had a short break before they recuperated to get set for the ICC World T20. It was an aspect that, according to Jurgensen, played a role in the turn around.
"We have sort of been in a can for the last three months. It was a good opportunity, for the guys to just take a break for two days. It gave me a chance to go home to my apartment in Dhaka and have a look at the whole programme for the T20 World Cup and focus on that," said Jurgensen.
"The previous two months were quite hectic and we had a lot of injuries and that's what helped as well I think. We have quite a settled line-up right now," he added.
The last week saw Bangladesh secure wins against four Associate nations.
While the coach was happy with the change of events -- when compared to the string of defeats in the last two months -- he was yet to be satisfied.
"We can still improve our fielding in certain areas that we have targeted. With our bowling we always will need to keep our eyes on a couple of areas such as the death bowling. What is really important is our attitude and our approach. That we need to keep consistent," said Jurgensen.
"As a squad we know how important this tournament is for Bangladesh and I am really glad that the players have begun to step up again after the tough times that we have had," he added.
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