Mash wants Tigers to be smart but not over-smart

Bangladesh's ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was optimistic that Tigers can counteract Chandika Hathurusingha's strategies and said that they want to be smart but not over-smart.

Bangladesh start the tri-nation series with the opener against Zimbabwe on Monday and the Tigers' skipper was looking forward to the challenge and said that the team wanted to win the series.

Former Bangladesh coach Chandika, who resigned mid-way through Bangladesh's South Africa tour is now in charge of Sri Lanka and he will have a bag full of tricks that he will be looking to apply against his former side.

Chandika have worked with the Bangladesh team for three years and has a good understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. Hathurusingha has a knack for getting it right against former students – he worked with key Australian players which helped Bangladesh during their home series against Australia.

Mashrafe agreed that the former coach has a lot of knowledge but suggested that Tigers have also studied their opponents.

Asked if Tigers have a surprise for Chandika, Mashrafe replied: "Yes, we are thinking about it. We want to be smart with our decisions but not oversmart."

Technical director Khaled Mahmud meanwhile said that the series will be a challenge for him on a personal level. He suggested that he did not have much of a chance to work with the senior players ahead of the series but opined that Tigers will be looking to their youngsters to perform well and the team will be unstoppable if the youngsters in the team shine in the upcoming matches.