Asia Cup 2018: Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza says he was not informed about squad changes
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza said that the openers need to contribute more to the team. (Source: AP)
After suffering two consecutive defeats at the Asia Cup, Bangladesh selectors decided to include Soumya Sarkar and Imrul Kayes to the remainder of the squad. But speaking to reporters at the press conference after the 7-wicket defeat against India on Friday, skipper Mashrafe Mortaza claimed that there was no discussion done on the changes. “I’m still not sure about those who are coming, there has been no discussion. The matter is not clear yet,” the allrounder said.
The 34-year further added that he is unsure whether Sarkar and Kayes have made any “course corrections” to warrant a return to the team. “They were out of the team in the same way… by not performing. Now they are returning to the team in such conditions and such pressure. I do not know what the technical aspects they’ve worked on. Whether they are fixing the problems – which put them out of the team – or not, these things will matter a lot in this tournament,” Mortaza said.
The right-arm seamer further added that it will be difficult for the new joiners to get into the mold of things straight away. “And especially if you think [about] Afghanistan’s match, they [newly added batsmen] have to deal with more difficult bowlers. It surely won’t be easy for anyone. Everything is difficult in international cricket,” the right-armer said.
Speaking about the consecutive defeats, the skipper blamed the openers Liton Das and Nazmul Hossain for failing to give their side a strong start in the absence of Tamim Iqbal who was ruled out due to an injury. “It was nothing like ‘we have to score 60 in the first ten overs. [Facing the] new ball from both ends becomes easier after taking a little time. What we’ve done in recent times is scoring 40-45 runs without losing any wicket or 30-35 runs in case of an early wicket-loss,” he said.
Mortaza added: “Middle-order batsmen have to build the innings when wicket falls early. It is difficult to always expect from the middle-order. Losing two [early] wickets in such matches, creates a lot of pressure on the middle order.”
But the Bangladesh skipper went on to add they are still in the contest and just have to go out and win their next match to get back into the tournament. “We’ve suffered a batting collapse in two consecutive matches. But I still think we aren’t out of the tournament. There are definitely opportunities for us to come back. We are getting a day, we will have regroup and play the next match,” he said.
Bangladesh will face Afghanistan on Sunday in their second Super Four match at the Asia Cup.