Shakib target Pak scalp
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said that it would be tough but not impossible to beat Pakistan in the ICC World Twenty20, which will get underway on April 30 in West Indies.
The young skipper was high on hope while taking with reporters in an official press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur prior to their departure for the Caribbean tonight.
"I think there is a possibility for us to beat Pakistan because right at the moment Pakistan cricket is unsettled with different kinds of crisis and injury problems. So we have to do something in the first match if we want to play the second round but that doesn't mean we play bad cricket against other group opponents Australia," said Shakib.
Bangladesh will play their first group match against Pakistan on May 1 and second and last group match against mighty Australia on May 5 and before that they will play two preparation games against Barbados XI (on April 27) and England (on April 28).
Coach Jamie Siddons also echoed his captain's sentiment but said that his boys need to play their best if they want to beat Pakistan, the defending champions.
"Both Pakistan and Australia are tough opponents but realistically we have a chance against Pakistan but in that case we need to play well," said Siddons.
The Australian expressed his satisfaction over his team's preparation before the tournament and said that they have still one-week time and two practice matches to tune up well before the tournament proper.
"The preparation is good and I must say it was much better than the last occasion. The players got the opportunity to play two tournaments--PCL and NCL recently, which is really good. Some players missed out on runs but I think the wicket was low and slow. But definitely the boys will get consistent pace while playing in Barbados," said Siddons.
The Bangladesh coach was also satisfied with the return of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, who got back his confidence after playing the NCL T20 tournament.
"As I know he (Mashrafe) lost his weight by seven-eight kg. A ninety percent fit Mashrafe is even good for us," he added.
Captain Shakib was also upbeat with his team's preparation before the mega tournament.
"Nothing could have been better than playing matches before any tournament. I think our preparation is good this time and most importantly we have been playing good cricket for last few months and hope it will continue in West Indies and as well as in the England tour," said the all-rounder.
It is told that Bangladesh is yet to learn the craft of the latest version of the game and they have a lack of batsmen who can mesmerize the opponents.
"True we don't have players like Symonds (Andrew) and Adam Gilchrist but still we have the strength and ability to do something in the T20 game also," said Shakib.
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