Shakib Al Hasan believes Bangladesh’s new found confidence after the 2015 World Cup will make them favourites for the home series against Pakistan later this month.
Bangladesh won three matches, including a famous triumph over England, to secure a berth in the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time. Although they have beaten Pakistan just once – at the 1999 World Cup – in 32 meetings, Shakib believes the team’s self-belief coupled with the home advantage factor will make it hard for a revamped Pakistan side.
“I think we should be starting as favourites to win the ODI series against Pakistan,” Shakib affirmed. “I think this is our best chance to win against Pakistan. Everyone in the team believes so too. We have proved that we can beat any team at home. If we play our best cricket, we can do well against any side. We beat New Zealand seven times, and they are the World Cup runners-up.”
Shakib’s confidence stems from Bangladesh’s record at home, at least as far as One-Day Internationals are concerned. They beat Zimbabwe 5-0 at home in December 2014, swept New Zealand 3-0 in late 2013, and enjoyed victories over India and Sri Lanka on their way to the final of the at the Asia Cup at home in 2012.
However, Bangladesh had a poor run at home in 2014-15, when they lost 12 of 18 ODIs. They were beaten 3-0 by Sri Lanka in February, while India got the better of them by 2-0 margin in June. Although they somewhat redeemed themselves with the win over Zimbabwe in December, Bangladesh couldn’t improve on their No. 9 ranking in the ICC ODI charts.
Shakib insisted that while the World Cup showing was a step in the right direction, it was equally important for Bangladesh to move up in the ICC rankings. “It is a very important year for us since it will be a 10-team World Cup next time,” said Shakib, who is currently in India to play for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.
“We need to go up the rankings. If we can win against higher-ranked sides, we will get more points. Ultimately we have to stay within the top eight to play in the World Cup. We have been around No. 9 and 10 for a long time. We got up to No. 8 for a brief period, but now we have to get to that level and stay there.”
Yep we were favorite in the series against Pakistan. and why we were favorite we prove the world. we beat the Pakistan in odi series 3-0. so that we were favorite. to know about a lot about this game u can go through this link essay my best holiday ever . Thank u very for your great post.
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