Bangladesh prefer to be ‘underdog’
Bangladesh head coach Steve Rhodes. -File Photo
||CF Correspondent||
Bangladesh head coach Steve Rhodes on Tuesday insisted that they are the underdogs in the upcoming three-match ODI series against New Zealand. The first ODI will be taken place at Napier on Wednesday.
Bangladesh are yet to win across format against New Zealand at their own den and received a huge blow ahead of the series due to the absence of Shakib al Hasan and Taskin Ahmed as they were ruled out due to sustaining injury respectively in the ongoing BPL.
Shakib, who was the player of the tournament in BPL sustained a finger injury in the BPL final and looked uncertain for the entire tour despite being ruled out from the ODI’s considering the time duration of his recovery.
Taskin, who earned a call-up in the national team after a two-year gap on the back of his impressive performance in BPL injured his ankle during their last match in BPL.
The absence of the duo seemed to have left a big blow on the morale of the team management as Rhodes insisted to keep the expectation level in check by claiming them to be party spoiler.
Earlier, he insisted that they are going into the ODI’s series with lot of confidence and was aiming to beat the host considering their vast experience in the in the 50 over format where they earner 13 wins from 20 matches in 20178
“The BPL has taken out a lot of them. We have two players now missing out on the tour, Taskin and Shakib, It has been hectic and it has been tough for them,’’ Rhodes told reporters ahead of the series.
“I don’t know the whole tour. But certainly, at the start of the ODI series, he won’t be available and it is a big blow to us,’’ he said.
“There is not many Shakib Al Hasan’s around the world,’’ he said. “It’s a really big task. You know our captain Mashrafe is quoted in the media. I think he is right. It doesn’t mean we can’t win. I think we have played some excellent cricket in the ODI format recently, beating WI couple of time. We should take a lot of heart from that,’’ he said.
“Coming out here against New Zealand, we know it’s going to be very difficult, very realistic,’’ he said. “We quite like being the underdog. We can surprise a few people being an underdog. I think NZ know they have got to play some very good cricket to beat us,’’ he added.
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