After being eliminated from the competition for a
position in the Asia Cup final, Bangladesh’s in-form batter, Towhid Hridoy,
declared that his team wants to end their tournament run on a high note.
Bangladesh’s campaign will come to an end after the conclusion of the Super 4s
stage as a result of India’s consecutive victories over Pakistan and Sri Lanka
and Bangladesh’s losses against the same teams.
The match between India and Bangladesh, scheduled on
September 15, will be a mere formality but Hridoy wants his team to return home
with a good result. “We are not thinking about what we have passed and
gone through and looking forward to the upcoming assignment. As we have a game
against India we will try to finish the tournament on a good note,” Hridoy
told reporters in Colombo on Wednesday (September 13). “We need to rectify
the mistakes that we have made (in the previous games) and return home with a good
result by overcoming our mistakes.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board has extended Mushfiqur
Rahim’s leave to allow him to be with his wife and new baby, thus he won’t be
available for Bangladesh during their match against India. Hridoy asked his
teammates to accept the additional duty since they understand how difficult it
will be to fill Mushfiqur’s absence.
“No Mushfiq bhai, of course it will be a
challenge for us because he is an experienced player. We, the rest of us, or
who will play in his place will try to recover it as much as possible,” he
said.
Following a three-day stay in the hotel following
their defeat to Sri Lanka on September 9, Bangladesh started practising on
Wednesday in preparation for their match against India. The cricket players
from Bangladesh spent their time in the gym working out and recovering in the
hotel. The players and head coach Chandika Hathurusingha met privately on
Tuesday.
“He just sat with me and said that I should play
without fear, that I usually do, and he said that I won’t get runs in every
game and won’t perform in every matches but that cannot change character,”
said Hridoy.