Victory over England different to Australia, New Zealand series wins: Mashrafe

Former Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza hailed Bangladesh's remarkable series win over reigning T20 World Cup champions England but said that it was not the same as the series wins against Australia and New Zealand at home.

Having won the first T20I in Chattogram, The Tigers sealed the series win with a four-wicket win in Dhaka on Sunday when Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz starred.

Mashrafe admitted that the T20 side needed a change and credited the inclusion of young players who managed to show their worth in the two matches. 

"Australia, New Zealand, now England. Bangladesh defeated three big teams in the T20 series in the country.

"But this victory is a little different. Because, in a word, the way the team has been built with young people is extraordinary. The T20 team needed to be overhauled. Hathurusinghe and Shakib have done that brilliantly. 

"This team will also have a tough time on good wickets, but everyone needs to be patient.

"Youngsters should be given an opportunity to play in this format and through this, a great team will slowly emerge. Though the change came late, it was a much-needed one. This is purely my opinion though," he wrote on Facebook.

Bangladesh registered back-to-back T20I series wins against Australia and New Zealand before heading to the 2021 T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.