It is something beyond the control of the players: Mashrafe

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza talked about staying relaxed as he appeared in a pres conference ahead of the big clash against India in the semifinals of the Champions Trophy.

The fast bowler pointed out that the bowlers would have hard time bowling on this wicket.

"It is more like an Oval wicket. It might be a tough wicket for the bowlers. We will have to adjust ourselves with the wicket," said the Bangladesh captain.

"The players are very excited to play in the semifinal of this kind of tournament. But to me it's just another game. And if we can consider this game as just another match we will be able to play more freely."

He admitted that there was a lot of hype surrounding the semifinal but said that they were enjoying that instead of considering it additional pressure.

"If you want to improve you will have to face this sort of situation. You will also have to win these sorts of games if you want to go up the ladder. We definitely enjoy this kind of situation rather taking it as pressure."

After being confronted with the obvious question about whether he could play any role in stopping the unhealthy atmosphere on social media which started after the 2015 World Cup quarterfinal, the skipper said: "It is something beyond the control of the players. It is something we don't expect. At the end of the day it's just a game. But as far I'm concerned I have tried but I think it is not possible for me or the other captain to control this. So, it's better for us to focus on the game."

He also said that the players had forgotten what happened in that quarterfinal at the MCG, where a couple of umpiring decisions went against Bangladesh. He again ruled out this particular contest as a grudge match.

"No. It could have been England or it could have been anyone [in that quarterfinal]. We have forgotten what happened 24 months ago. We have played a lot of games against them after that -- in the Asia Cup, in the T20 World Cup and of course the home series that we have won. Tomorrow we will play a new match and obviously our focus will be on that game," said Mashrafe.

The Bangladesh captain also dismissed the notion that it would be Bangladesh's biggest game ever.

"I was answering the same question in 2015. We are playing in the semifinal this time and there is a lot of hype around this game. You can say it's a big game but I'm not sure."