'Need to be aggressive'

Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmudullah Riyad (R) waits for his turn while bowling in the nets in Canberra yesterday. The Tigers launch their World Cup campaign against Afghanistan on Wednesday. Photo: BCB

A little over a year ago Mahmudullah Riyad's position in the team was heavily questioned. The player was barely scoring runs and talks about favouritism within the team flooded the media.

One year on and a lot seems to have changed. With scores 42, 36 and 83 in the warm-up games, a slimmer Riyad, seems to be the batsman in form for Bangladesh.

He has tasted World Cup successes in the past; the most memorable of course was the win against England in Chittagong in 2011 when Riyad and Shafiul Islam brought Bangladesh back from the dead.

Drawing confidence from the past wins and his current form, Riyad reckoned that the Tigers could 'beat anyone' this time around.

“I am not saying that we are going to make upsets, if we play to the best of our ability then we can beat any one. We are looking to win the first game and put it out of the way so that we can get a good start on the World Cup tour.

“The preparation has been good though we did not win the two matches. We experimented in those matches because the management wants to give everyone a go. For instance, bowlers who were supposed to bowl at a particular time were rested and others given a chance,” explained Riyad.

Riyad exuded a balanced approach with regards to their first match. While he didn't exactly dismiss Afghanistan, he wasn't ready to take it easy either.

“I don't think we are worrying too much, in a sense that we are not too tensed. We are quite focussed because we have prepared quite well for the last two to three months.

“Yes they beat us in the Asia Cup, but we beat them in the T20 World Cup and took one back. This is the World Cup and it's different. We need to try to start positively,” said Riyad.

“There is always pressure no matter who you play with. But we need to concentrate on our strengths and weaknesses rather than being concerned about our opponents. We need to play aggressive cricket. I think we play our best cricket when we play aggressively,” he added.

The batsman, who is expected to play at number four, also hoped that the top order, which struggled in the practice matches, would peak at the right time.