Tigers ‘prepared’ to leave 2023 woes behind

Bangladesh will take on Sri Lanka in the first of the three-match ODI series in Chattogram today, and newly appointed skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto was eager to make a strong comeback in the format after the disappointments of last year's fifty-over World Cup in India, and also find a quick reply to the loss against Sri Lanka in the preceding T20I series at home. 

Between 2015 to 2022, the Tigers amassed 50 wins in the 50-over format, losing 31 games, but the scenario reversed in the following year as they lost 14 ODIs, winning nine games – including only two victories in nine matches at the mega event.

"There will always be challenges. There is always a challenge before playing any international team. We have played well from 2015 to 2022, and so you can perform badly in one year [2023]. But we have to come back strongly as a team this year and we are prepared for that,"

Najmul told reporters during yesterday's pre-series press conference at Chattogram's Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, which will also host the remaining matches on March 15 and 17.

One of the curious factors which has come under the limelight during the World Cup was the frequent changes to the batting order. Shanto, who also captained the Tigers in the recent away ODI series in New Zealand, felt that the batting order will be "a settled one".

"When we played the last series against New Zealand, there was not much change. Without Shakib [Al Hasan] bhai, sometimes combinations must change. With him, making the side is easier. We will keep that in mind when structuring our batting order. We will do what is best for the side and hope that the batting order will be a settled one," Shanto said.

Without Shakib, one or two batters are taking up at least one slot in the batting order. The opening stand had been an issue since Tamim Iqbal's decision to opt out of the 2023 World Cup, after which Soumya Sarkar and Anamul Haque opened in all three New Zealand ODIs.

"We want hundred percent from him in batting, bowling and fielding," Shanto said about roles Soumya would be expected to fill.

"He returned to the lineup after a long time in the last ODI series. He played three matches and in one of them he played a big innings.

Everyone requires consistency, it's not something Soumya needs separately. Every batter needs improvement in this area and Soumya himself is working on it. If you consider the last series in those kinds of conditions, playing an innings like that is a big thing for our side," he added.

Above all, when asked about the approach for the next World Cup, the message Shanto sent was that his team has to play as a unit.

"What's important is whether we are able to play as a team, whether we win or lose. We tried to play the New Zealand series as a team, wanting to win every match, in every situation.

"Till the next World Cup, the plan is to play well as a team and support each other. Especially when someone is going through a bad phase, it's about backing that player. In the next three years, it's key how united we are," he concluded.