Team director of Bangladesh national team, Khaled Mahmud, questioned the intent of the batsmen in their seven-wicket loss against the Afghans in the Asia Cup 2022 at the Sharjah Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
Mahmud stated that if the batsmen fail to show a fearless intent in the middle then they don’t have the ability that is required to stay in the national team. He also hinted at the insecurity players have about losing their place in the team if they fail to deliver.
“If you show intent and get out, I think we all can take it. But if don’t show that intent, then I don’t think you have the capability to stay in the team. The message was very clear about the change in mindset we wanted to bring. We really needed the change in mindset batting-wise but other than Mosaddek, no one really could show that change in mindset,” he said on Wednesday.
“If you are thinking about losing your place if you fail to score runs, it means that you are thinking negatively from the get-go. How can you play good cricket if you have these thoughts?” he added.
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Bangladesh scored only 127 runs in their Asia Cup opener against Afghanistan. What really stood out was the absence of the fresh, fearless brand of cricket, primarily in batting, that the team management has been promising leading up to the Asia Cup.
Mahmud underlined the importance for players to play for the team. He said that if the players are in constant fear of losing their place in the team then it becomes difficult for them to deliver on the field.
“As long as you play for the team, everything will be fine; You have to play for the team. If you have the fear of losing your place in the team, then you won’t be able to perform in international matches, especially in T20,” he said.
“In Test matches, you can be selfish. Nobody will say anything to you if you score 100 off 300 balls. But in this format, you cannot do that. We won’t win matches if you are batting at a strike rate of 30. In this format you have to play fearless cricket,” he added.
