|| CF Correspondent ||

Bangladesh team manager Khaled Mahmud said on Monday that they are prepared for New Zealand as they have full faith on their squad. Bangladesh defeated South Africa by 21 runs and now will be looking forward to give New Zealanders a run for their money as they take them on June 5.

“It will depend on the wicket, but we are prepared,” Mahmud said in front of the team hotel. “The four players who were left out yesterday are all good players. Our bench is very strong. Sabbir [Rahman] scored a 100 in New Zealand, Liton [Das] is performing, Rubel [Hossain] is bowling very well in the nets and [Abu Jayed] Rahi also proved himself in Ireland. So if we have to make any practical changes after seeing the wicket, we are prepared for that. All respect to New Zealand, they are strong, but I also believe that we are capable of beating them.”

There is more than a little substance behind that belief, with Mahmud singling out Bangladesh’s bowling -- the batting cornered all attention -- during the opening win.

“I think Mustafizur’s comeback was very strong for us. He is bowling so well in the nets that it is unbelievable. I would say that yesterday, he bowled at 80 per cent of the quality he bowls with in the nets. I believe he can do even better.

“We are very lucky in that when you look at our batting, four players are very experienced in international cricket. In our bowling, four players are also very experienced – Mashrafe and Shakib no doubt. But then you have Rubel and Mustafizur, even [Mehedi Hasan] Miraz is experienced now because he has played a fair amount of matches. We can say now that we are very good contenders for the top four.”