Abu Jayed: Plan for Asia Cup is to be the champions
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|| CF Correspondent ||
Bangladesh pacer Abu Jayed said that they will be heading to the Asia Cup with the mindset of becoming the champions.
The Tigers have started their preparation for the tournament at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium and according to Jayed, their inspirational skipper Mashrafee Bin Mortaza instilled this goal into their minds.
“We are very happy. Our plan for the Asia Cup is to be champions. There was a meeting at the dressing room a while ago and Mashrafe Bhai told us that we need to believe that we will become the champions. We are not going there just to participate,” Jayed said.
Jayed was part of the squad that toured West Indies where Tigers surpassed expectations by winning the ODI and T20I series after a disastrous Test series. Bangladesh were inspired by the presence of captain Mashrafe during the tour after he had joined the ODI side. Having watched Mashrafe during the tour, Jayed felt that the captain made others believe in themselves through performances and inspiring words.
“It was my first tour with Mashrafe Bhai. At Guyana, when I saw him I felt confident that we can do it. He gave us the belief that ‘if you believe in yourself then you will win’, and we did that,” he added.
When asked what plan the bowlers will be working on, the pacer said that they need to be mentally keen to come up with solutions on the field. The current camp is making them more confident and they want to play the Asia Cup with confidence.
“We don’t have enough pace in our bowling. But we have the ability to bowl using certain techniques. Mashrafe bhai gives us confidence so that we can bowl smartly. And we are going to the Asia Cup with this confidence,” Jayed concluded.
