Mahmudullah not interested in favourite tag 

The Tigers could be easily branded as the clear favourites in their five-match twenty20 international series against New Zealand starting today but Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah is not interested in wearing the favourite tag as it could work in reverse.

The T20I captain showed his indifference in wearing the favourite tag in a virtual press conference on Tuesday despite beating Australia a month ago and their opposition being a second-string New Zealand side.

Bangladesh is yet to register any win against New Zealand in T20Is, but the Tigers hold a very impressive record against them in 50 overs cricket at home.

But when it comes to T20Is, the Tigers have cut sorry figures as they lost all the matches played against the Blackcaps, including three matches in New Zealand earlier this year.

Therefore Mahmudullah carefully shrugged off the favourite tag and said, “You can consider yourself favourites in T20Is, but if it becomes overconfidence, it can be negative for you. The team that reads the conditions well and has the hunger to do well on the day usually comes out on top in T20Is. New Zealand are a very disciplined side. We must remain focused and hungry, as we did against Australia. I would love to see the continuity.”

Some were raising eyebrows when head coach Russel Domingo declared that the wicketkeeping job will be split between Mushfiqur Rahim and Nurul Hasan Sohan in the series, but Mahmudullah is comfortable with the decision.

“Mushfiq is a wonderful teammate. He is happy to share his keeping work with Sohan. Both are happy. I think Sohan has been keeping really well. Mushfiq has been outstanding throughout the years. I think it will be better for the team if they share the work,” he said.

The matches of the New Zealand series will start at 4 PM, meaning that the first innings of the match will be played under broad daylight, and the dew would hardly make any impact on the game. Thus, Mahmudullah believes the toss will play a vital role.

“The toss is always a factor in Mirpur where I hope to get some good wickets. We are not thinking about the match timing. Maybe both sides will face a similar situation. It is better to think about match preparation and skill level,” he said.