WI tour, a launchpad to improve our Test standing: Mortaza
Focused to improve
his team's standing in Test cricket, the
newly-appointed Bangladesh captain Mashrafe
Mortaza has termed the upcoming West Indies tour
as the launchpad for the side.
"Our performance in Tests has been nothing to
write home about and, keeping in mind that we
begin with Tests in the West Indies, I want to
begin practice in a way that will help us put our
best foot forward," Mortaza said.
"I hope the tour
will be a great launchpad and that all the players
contribute," he added.
The right-arm pacer went on to add that there will
not be any ego clash between him and the ousted
skipper Mohammad Ashraful.
He also pointed that the right-hand batsman will
shine in the near future as he is a very
professional and gifted player.
"I don't think there will be any problems working
with Ashraful. The kind of player Ashraful is, he
will be playing his best game as always.
"He will not be playing for me, but
for the country. He's not immature and, being a
professional player, he knows very well what is
expected from him. I believe he will shine," he
added.
Bangladesh sacked Ashraful as national cricket
captain due to the team's poor performance
in the recently-concluded World Cup Twenty20.
Bangladesh failed to progress to the Super Eights
phase of the event in England after losing both
their first round
matches to India
and Ireland.
However, Mortaza felt that Bangladesh ousted from the
tournament not because of poor performance as the team
has played up to the their potential against big teams
like India.
He also pointed out that team lacked the much-needed
stability in the Twenty 20 World Cup.
"We did play well against the big teams, especially
India.
"We may have been lacking a little in stability but I
don't think we played too badly and the criticism has
been a little over the top. We hope to sort out these
shortcomings and next time we'll make sure such
matches don't slip from our grasp," he added.
Mortaza, who is also a useful late order batsman, has
shrugged off any possibilities of dip in his form due
to the newly-added responsibility of leading the team
and resurrecting the team, having had captaincy
experience in domestic cricket.
"There's no need to think about it too much. It all
depends on how well you can overcome the burden.
Captaincy definitely brings pressure but if you can
enjoy it, it's worth it," he added.
