35-year-old Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza is one of the most experienced campaigners in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup. He has led the side fairly well so far. The Tigers scripted a victory against South Africa and came very close to snatching a win against New Zealand before going down fighting against England.
Some people don’t think well of our cricket: Mortaza
While many pundits haven’t taken the side seriously, the veteran all-rounder feels it doesn’t bother them much.”Do you think this was a surprise?” he quizzed. “If we can deliver our best we knew what we could do. I’m sure some people don’t think well of our cricket. We are concentrating on our game and letting other people talk.”
According to him, winning is the key and the players are not affected by the talks behind their back. In Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh have loads of experience by their side and the addition of Mustafizur Rahman and Mahmadullah only adds as an advantage. “I’m not worried about who is respecting us, I’m more worried about our performance,” Mashrafe told media reporters in Bristol on Monday.
Winning 2 points is more important: Mortaza
Bangladesh are placed above Proteas, with 2 points out of three games. They will look to win a few more games and push their case for a semi-final berth. The Asian side have an impressive record in ICC tournaments in recent past.
They were one of the top four sides in the 2007 Champions Trophy and played the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup. “Winning matches is more important for us. I don’t think respect is going to work in the 22 yards (of a pitch). It all depends on how we react on the ground. If we can win two points, this is more important than respect at the moment,” he added.