South Africa Are Our Next Step, Says Bangladesh Captain Mushfiqur Rahim

South Africa Are Our Next Step, Says Bangladesh Captain Mushfiqur Rahim

Bangladesh have notched up Test wins over England and Australia at home and have done well in ODI format as well in recent past. Captain Mushfiqur Rahim wants his team to continue that intensity and said that they were confident for the South Africa series.
“Bangladesh has been playing really well in the last couple of years,” he said. “The first target is to keep that intensity going. When we are playing at home we are really confident. It’s not going to be easy, but this is our next step. We want to do well in Africa as well. It is a great opportunity for us.”
But Rahim mentioned that it won’t be easy with all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan unavailable for the Test series against South Africa. He said that Shakib is a “special player”
“Shakib is a special player and no-one can replace him,” he said after the practice game in Benoni.
Despite the absence of Shakib, Mushfiqur said that other players like Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah can help them against the quality in South Africa and added that his bowlers will perform as well.
“How we cope with the fast bowlers is key to our success,” he said. “But players like Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman and Mominul Haque have improved a lot as individuals and hopefully they will take their responsibility to the middle.”
“They are inexperienced but skillful and if the wickets offer a little bit of spin, our spinners can do well.”
Bangladesh are playing a three-day warm-up game against South African Invitational XI at Willowmoore Park. They declared at 306 for seven Thursday on the first day. The home team were 21 for one at stumps.
Courtesy : indianexpress