Shakib-Tamim's absence motivated the boys to take added responsibilities: Mushfiq
||Desk Report||
Bangladesh’s “Mr. Dependable” Mushfiqur Rahim said that the comforting factor behind winning against Pakistan was that the boys were geared up to take the added responsibility due to unavailability of Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan in their must-win game at Abu Dhabi.
Tamim was ruled out of the tournament due to a wrist injury sustained during the opening game against Sri Lanka while Shakib flew back to Dhaka when Bangladesh took on Pakistan, as his sore finger made it impossible for him to continue.
“Tamim and Shakib are not there, but we just told the boys that someone can put their hands up and in these kinds of matches, if they can pull it off, then they will learn a lot from these types of situations,” Mushfiq told reporters after the win against Pakistan.
The trio of Tamim, Shakib, and Mushfiqur has occupied the top of the table among Bangladesh batters for the year 2017 and 2018, and have commanded such high position in the previous years too.
The fact that Mushfiqur and the two currently-injured stalwarts – Tamim and Shakib Al Hasan – have been the batting mainstays for Bangladesh in ODIs in the last couple of years puts Mushfiqur's lone-fight in the Asia Cup into perspective. To have carried Bangladesh in the absence of his two other batting accomplices is really worth all the accolades even if Mushfiqur himself wants to largely play it down.
“I still believe we need to treat it as just another win. But then if you think of all these factors, the unavailability of Shakib and Tamim, the fact that we were three down early, it certainly makes it special,” said Mushfiq.
“Also, Pakistan's attack, their understanding of these conditions, those factors contribute to make it an important win. So yes, it all went well after considering these factors,” he concluded.
