CT 2017: Former Bangladesh cricketers believe the team is worthy competitor now

Team Bangladesh has been soaring high in confidence in the recent times. However, they endured a narrow defeat in their first warm-up match against Pakistan. Despite that, the team should still hold their heads high as they were in command of the game for major part of the match. Prior to that, they had beaten the New Zealand team in the final game of the Ireland tri-series.

The win in the match had seen Bangladesh surge to their best-ever rankings in ODI cricket. They escalated to the number 6 spot heading into the Champions Trophy. They will be playing their first match of the tournament on June 1 when they take on hosts England in the season opener. Now, the former cricketers have noted that the team needs to be realistic in their approach this time around.

Former opener Shahriar Nafees noted that the team has to go with the confidence in the tournament. They have only one once in the history of the tournament. The solitary win had come in the 2006 edition of the tournament against Zimbabwe. Nafees was the hero in the game for the team. Now, he noted that all oppositions are going to be tough and hence being realistic is the way to go ahead.

“We have got to be realistic. We are going to play in the Champions Trophy and our rivals are all tough teams. Especially, all three are good in the English conditions where the tournament will be held,” he quoted.

Habibul Bashar adds on to his points

Earlier, Habibul Bashar, the former skipper, had backed the chances of Bangladesh in the tournament. He again added to his points. He rightly cited that earlier the team used to think only about avoiding heavy losses. Now, the team has the self-belief to win games.

“The 2006 Champions Trophy was just fun. We had to play in the preliminary round to get into the main draw. But after all these years, we are directly playing in the final round. During those years our aim was to avoid humiliating losses. We didn’t dare to dream of any spectacular achievement. But now we consider ourselves as worthy competitors,” quoted Bashar.