Mortaza: Only big teams feel nervous

“Bangladesh has nothing to lose. I don’t think the boys are concerned, we’ve been to Ireland and played good cricket. If we play our best cricket, you never know what will happen,” says Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza.

Published : May 29, 2017 16:45 IST

“We are in a tough group and it’s a very hard job. We have to work hard and enjoy every game,” says Mortaza.
“We are in a tough group and it’s a very hard job. We have to work hard and enjoy every game,” says Mortaza.
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“We are in a tough group and it’s a very hard job. We have to work hard and enjoy every game,” says Mortaza.

Bangladesh has made steady progress over the years, and will look to cause an upset or two in the 2017 Champions Trophy. Veteran Mashrafe Mortaza will be leading the Tigers’ charge and the skipper is confident of his team’s abilities ahead of the meet.

Excerpts from an interview:   

Question: This will be the first Champions Trophy for most of the few Bangladeshi players. What are your expectations? 

Answer:  For me it’s the second, I played in India in 2006. But we played the qualifiers. But this time we are playing proper Champions Trophy. I feel we’ve earned it, over the last two-three years, we have played good cricket and as a captain I’m looking forward to this event. We are in a tough group and it’s a very hard job. We have to work hard and enjoy every game.

 

Are you nervous?

No, not really. Only big teams feel nervous. We have nothing to lose. I don’t think the boys are concerned, we’ve been to Ireland and played good cricket. If we play our best cricket, you never know what will happen.

You can’t call Bangladesh a small team any more…

The world doesn’t consider us a big team. People think we don’t have a chance against the likes of England and Australia. Yes, in these conditions it will be hard, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have faith in ourselves. On our day, we can beat any side and move to the second round.

Will England fear you?

I don’t know. We played well against them in 2015 (World Cup) but now it is 2017. It’s not going to help us. For us, it’s a new day and we have to perform from the first ball. They (England) are playing good cricket, especially at home.

Courtesy: Star Sports

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