Riyad hoping for another comeback

Following a dismal showing in the ICC T20 World Cup in the UAE -- where Bangladesh faced a shock defeat to Scotland in the first round before losing all the Super 12 games -- the Tigers have less than a year to prepare for the next edition of the mega-event, scheduled to take place between October 16 and November 13 next year in Australia.

There was been plenty of talk about the pitches and conditions prepared at home before the Tigers headed to the UAE,

where the inability of the batters was lay bare on pitches far different to the slow and low tracks prepared in Mirpur.

The Bangladesh think-tank made drastic changes to the T20 squad after the World Cup debacle, but in the three-match series against Pakistan that followed, the Tigers' performance remained unchanged as they crashed to a 3-0 series defeat at home. It will be a different challenge for Bangladesh in Australia, where conditions and pitches are expected to test batters. According to T20I captain Mahmudullah Riyad, it is important for the Tigers to work on the batting department.

"It actually depends on what type of T20 cricket we are playing as we still have a long way to go. I personally feel that the conditions in Australia are very good because there is true bounce and pace. Now it is up to us and how we handle it. Perhaps our batting unit needs to do better but I think our bowling department has been doing well consistently," Mahmudullah told the media during the trophy unveiling ceremony of the BCB Academy Cup in Mirpur yesterday.

"There are a few small things we need to work on. If we can improve consistently in every series, we will be able to achieve something very good."

Bangladesh cricket has been going through a lean patch in recent times but Mahmudullah was willing to take positive, keep the faith and back his team.

"Obviously the plan is to play well and I always like to think about the positives. Yes, we were unable to play good cricket in the World Cup and also in the Pakistan series. But if you see the entire year, we played some good cricket in series win over Sri Lanka, Australia, and New Zealand at home. I always have faith and I am with my team. We managed to come back previously and I hope we can in the future as well," he said.

The 35-year-old termed T20s the toughest format and said that if the Tigers were able to show consistency, everyone would start to regain confidence.