When you are losing games you tend to be repetitive. And Bangladesh's stand-in captain Mahmudullah Riyad is no exception. Yet to win a game after taking the reins following injury to Shakib Al Hasan in the tri-series final, the soft-spoken and articulate Mahmudullah has been bating against those obvious questions without providing any substance of how to overcome the vicious defeat-cycle.

And ahead of the last T20I at Sylhet, his latest pep talks were about self-motivation and playing for pride.

"This is our last chance. We did not get the desired result in one-day and Test series. Now we have a game which I think we can play for pride. We are telling ourselves that we can draw the T20 series," Mahmudullah told reporters at the pre-match briefing.

"Motivation to me should come from oneself and to play for Bangladesh can be the biggest motivation for any player. At the end of the day we are playing for the pride of the nation," said the Bangladesh captain when asked how they were motivating themselves in the face of chronic defeats.

Mahmudullah said that opener Tamim Iqbal was recovering well from a stiff left-arm that ruled him out of the first T20I in Dhaka that the home side lost by six wickets.

"Tamim's condition is now very well. Hopefully, he will be fit for tomorrow's game."

However he refused to comment on whether more debutants were on the cards, especially Sylhet's local boy Abu Jayed, after four in the first game.

"We are still working on it. We are yet to see the wicket, we are yet to talk with the team management. At the moment everyone in the team has a chance to play. We will definitely field the best possible eleven after having a good look at the wicket."

Stand-in Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah Riyad. Photo: Star File

Bangladesh will be playing their first game at Sylhet, which provided a lot of runs during the first-leg of the Bangladesh Premier League last year. But Mahmudullah said that it is more important to execute the plan than winning the toss or having a better understanding of the wicket.

"If you can execute your skills that will be good enough and it is more important than the toss or anything else. We have so far failed to execute the plan as a unit. And if we can do that we can come out winners," said the right-hander, adding that Chandika's first-hand knowledge about the Bangladesh team, atmosphere and condition, would not have been a big factor had they executed their own plan.

He also defended two of the non-performing young players in their first T20I.

"It is not that easy to come and perform in international cricket straightaway. If I say anything about their performance at this moment it won't be fair. They have got potential and have a long way to go," he said, adding that he has taken the role as captain as a great pride notwithstanding the fact that he never got a fair opportunity to lead the team before.

"When the opportunity came to me I was eager to take it. It's a great pride; it is a great honour to lead the national team. I will try to do my best one more time in the next match."