Shakib Al Hasan, the T20 captain of Bangladesh, urged his side to face off Afghanistan in two-match T20 series without thinking much about the opponent's strength and Rashid Khan, a legspinner who is a nightmare for almost every batter in the world in the shortest format of the cricket.
According to Shakib, when Bangladesh plays as a team, without much focusing on the opponent, condition of individual player, their chance to win the game increases a lot, BSS reports.
"I think we play well as a team when we don't think much about the other team. When we keep an open mind and think about how we can improve our game, and think how we can improve 10 or 20 per cent from our position, I think that's when the team performs better," Shakib said on Thursday as his side gears up for the two-match T20 series against Afghanistan.
"We tend to get a little nervous or unable to perform well when we think too much about the conditions and too much about the opponent or any particular player. I think the less we can do about that, the better for us."
He said it's the high time to build the culture of total team performance as they are trying to build a strong team, eying the big tournaments like World Cup or T20 World Cup.
"Our team doesn't rely on any particular batter or bowler. We want to perform as team and want to win the game as a team. We will try to keep the same pace," Shakib said.
The Afghans came to the T20 series on the back of their first ever ODI series victory over Bangladesh.
But Bangladesh are no more a vulnerable T20 team as Afghanistan used to face in the past. Since 2022, T20 World Cup, Bangladesh won five out of six matches, including a 3-0 whitewash against World Champions England.
Shakib said Afghanistan will be a tough nut to crack but they are confident, specially after their performance against England and Ireland in the last two series.
"We have played well in the last two series at home. This is another newchallenge for us. Afghanistan are definitely a good team. The way we areplaying cricket and the way we are improving, we want to perform like that inevery match," Shakib remarked.
As has been the case, Bangladesh looked clueless against Rashid Khan's leg-spin as in ODI series although pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi was the wrecker-in-chief. Rashid is more dangerous in T20 format and every batter in the world may get it tough to pick Rashid's spin in any condition.
Shakib stayed unfazed, despite knowing the challenge to face Rashid Khan in the T20 format. According to him, the Bangladesh players have taken necessary preparation to how they would deal with one individual.
"We have not talked or thought about any one cricketer. I am sure that players will work out personally what kind of situation they will face from their place, whether they are batting or bowling," Shakib pointed out.
"It's not really a matter of telling anyone and it's also not a matter of doing. In whatever situation comes, a player's responsibility is how he can perform well for the team. As I said, momentum is very important in T20. How we start the game, I think, can determine the outcome or fate of the match a lot. Whether batting or bowling, it's important to get off to a good start."
Even he was not worried about the condition, saying that Bangladesh now have the weapons to play in any condition.
"We are not really worried about the conditions. The biggest reason for this is that the conditions are equal for both teams. Also, I don't think we're a team that needs to take advantage of our conditions.
I at least believe thatour team has the potential to adapt to any conditions and play competitive cricket against any team. That's what I would expect from my team that we go into the field with that mindset and be open-minded and ready to do whatever the team needs."
"Nobody has said much about the wicket. I and the coach may have had a little talk, apart from that. I don't know if one or two cricketers have gone near the wicket or not. As I said, we are not worried about the condition.
Of course, Afghanistan are a good team, a big challenge for us. But if we thinkabout the World Cup and the Asia Cup, it's a good opportunity to face themagain, to know a little more about them and what they can do."
