Mashrafe Mortaza feels his team has got a hard group in the Champions Trophy

Bangladesh are currently ranked 6th in the ICC ODI Team Rankings, which is ahead of West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. After the meteoric rise that they triggered in international cricket since the 2015 World Cup, nobody considers Bangladesh as underdogs anymore. However, skipper Mashrafe Mortaza acknowledged that they do not want to get carried away by the team’s recent rise and want to continue working hard.

The skipper spoke about the upcoming Champions Trophy and the challenges that his team will have to face in the tournament. According to Mortaza, the group that Bangladesh are placed in is a challenge for his team, calling it a ‘very hard’ group.

“We are very happy with that. And we want to get moving from here. We’ll have to go as far as we can.  This tournament is going to be very hard for us and we know that. We’re playing that certain group that is very hard, and the conditions as well,” Mashrafe said.

The skipper has confidence in his boys 

However, he also showed confidence in his boys and said that they are capable of turning things around even against the best sides in the business.

“But as I said, you never know. On your day, we can do anything. And we have some quality players who can change the game. And we’ll have to play as a team as we’ve been doing so far and hopefully we’ll do something here.”

In case you are not aware, the Tigers share the group with England, New Zealand and Australia. According to Mortaza, the other three teams are a force to reckon with and this may cause a little more pressure on Bangladesh.

“I think that this tournament, the group we’ve got is very hard — Australia, England and New Zealand. It’s not going to be easy,” the Bangladeshi skipper stated.

Bangladesh will start their campaign against England in the inaugural match of the tournament on June 1.