Past results won’t play any role in Ctg Test: Mominul 

There was not much under his belt from where Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque could take inspiration ahead of the first of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, starting from tomorrow at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.

Their recent home record against West Indies and Pakistan and the outcomes in the last series against South Africa only reflect Bangladesh's struggle in the longest format of the game.

And Mominul's own poor batting performance added more worry for the team and that was the reason the Bangladesh captain had little to say during the pre-match press conference today.

Mominul, however, was not the one to think about the past. 

"We always play to win. We will definitely play with our own plan here. You cannot think about what happened in the past. Those who will be able to handle the pressure over the next five days will win the match. The past results won't play any role here," said Mominul.

There was only relief for the home team in the last moment as they are going to get the services of premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan but Mominul will definitely miss his two in-form players -- pacer Taskin Ahmed and allrounder Mehedi Hasan Miraz.

"They made a huge contribution in winning the Test in New Zealand. We will miss them because they were in good form. They performed so well that there were not many chances for the others to take their places but I believe it's an opportunity for others to prove their worth," Mominul added.

He also informed that Shakib was hundred per cent fit to play the first Test. "Shakib bhai is mentally very strong. You can understand someone's fitness by watching his batting. I think he is hundred per cent fit. We will decide whether we go with four or five bowlers after inspecting the pitch tomorrow morning. Shakib bhai's presence always gives us comfort in regards to team combination. We will decide tomorrow whether we pick three or two pacers."

Mominul also said that they were not thinking about their opponents much, rather they were thinking about how they can play good cricket for five days. 

"We are thinking about how we can dominate the match for all five days," he said, adding that he did not agree with many who believe he has been going through a bad patch.

The Bangladesh captain was also not worried about the weather condition. "I guess there will be rain for 5 to 10 minutes. I can't think about the weather."