Still have a lot to improve on: Riyad

The T20I tri-series featuring Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, came to a disappointing end at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. Following incessant rain in Mirpur, the match was eventually called off and the finalists -- Bangladesh and Afghanistan -- were declared joint champions with Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmudullah Riyad saying that he felt sorry for the young kids who came to watch some cricket in the pouring rain.

Both teams were disappointed at not having played any cricket on the day. Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan even expressed his hopes that a reserve day will be allocated at least for tournament finals in the future.

Although Bangladesh reached the tri-series final, they do so in disheartening fashion. Ahead of the series, the Tigers had lost the one-off Test against Afghanistan. Mahmudullah said that the team still have a lot to improve on and could use the upcoming National Cricket League to do just that ahead of the upcoming assignment in India in November.

"Obviously it was disappointing in the Test as I personally believe that we have the capability to deliver better and we talked a lot after that among ourselves. We were morally down after losing the first T20 against Afghanistan.

"I think we still have to do a lot and need to work on our decision making and I think it is very crucial to improve in that area. As we have a series against India we have to bring our A game or else it will be difficult for us to beat them," Mahmudullah told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

On the other hand, Afghanistan took a lot of positives from their tour of Bangladesh, where they registered a comprehensive 224 run win in the solitary Test, which was just their third Test match against the Tigers, and also reached the tri-series final.

Having a new set of players for each format seems to be working well for Afghanistan. Both Afghan wicketkeeper-batsman and player-of-the-series Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rashid felt that they are heading in the right direction.

"We already have different players in different formats the best thing is that we have too many players right now. Yes, we might not have the best facilities back home but the players are trying to use whatever facility we have and trying their best to play for the national team, which is pleasing for me as captain. For me it's good to have different players across formats as it helps me adjust with the particular format quickly," Rashid told reporters.

Afghanistan are not a part of the upcoming ICC Test Championship but Rashid informed that they would like to earn their place in the tournament by playing better cricket and beating big teams in the coming days.