When Bangladesh take on England at the Oval for the opening game of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, it will be nothing short of a historic occasion back home in Bangladesh. This edition marks their return to the ICC Champions Trophy for the first time in more than a decade as they last participated in the event in 2006 in India. Having missed the 2009 and 2013 editions in South Africa and England respectively, the Asian side will be hoping to take giant strides in the tournament.
On the eve of their game against tournament favourites and hosts England, skipper Mashrafe Mortaza mentioned that his side had the ability to beat any team on their day. However, the veteran pacer also admitted that things wouldn’t be easy for the Bangladesh team, and the fact that their improvement was so clearly visible, was an achievement in itself.
“The thing is that we all know that on a given day, we can beat anybody,” Mashrafe said in the pre-match press conference. “But we have to start well; if you can start well, then things will come easier.
The pacer added that he expected his team to cope up with the pressure quite well.
“There will be a lot of pressure, but I think we can cope up. Also, if you go back to the England side, I think they also feel more pressure than us, because they want the trophy. Especially, because this is happening in their home. So, it’s both sides, there is a little bit of pressure, but who can cope up, they will perform their best.”
Mortaza concluded by mentioning that the more significant part was his side progressing, which everyone should notice.
“There is a lot of expectation. But we have to understand where we are, and the main thing is that we are progressing or not. Little by little, we are coming up. We are starting from ten to nine, now seven, eight, now six. So, that means that the graph is coming up. So, that’s most important to me, and this trophy, there is a lot of hope, but realistically, we have to play at our best, to be honest.”