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Mushfiqur eager to prove T20 mettle

Sports Reporter
Cricket
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim said yesterday thathis team will be able to show their improvement inT20 cricket in theTigers1 upcoming tour ofEurope.
"We know our record in T20 cricket is not good. We are still not good in the new format of the game. Due to lack of international matches we are not even in the ICC T20 international rankings while even Afghanistan occupy a spot in the rankings," said the Bangladesh skipper during a practice session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
"We have a chance to break into the table if we can win matches on this tour. So it's a very good opportunity for us. The result was not as per our expectation on the recent tour of Zimbabwe but we are confident of winning the series against Ireland. Everybody has the selfconfidence, but you know just selfconfidence is not enough to win, rather you have to prove your skills. I believe everybody will be able to show their skills on the coming tour,” he added.
But the wicketkeeper-batsman was well aware of the fact that finishing victorious will not be an easy task considering Bangladesh's away record, especially their poor record in T20 cricket. Bangladesh have so far played
18 T20 internationals, winning only four and having lost their only T20 match against Ireland — a six-wicket reverse at Trent Bridge in the 2009 ICC WorldTwenty20.
Bangladesh also have bitter memories of their last Europe tour in 2010 as
they lost one match each against Ireland and Netherlands out of three games -- although then it was in the one-day version.
"Our experience against Ireland was not good at all, so this tour will not be an easy one for us. We don't have a good
record away and you know we are going to play in different conditions. And you know in T20 cricket no one can be considered a big team. We may be favourites in the series but I believe Ireland are tough opponents," observed Mushfiqur.
The Tigers skipper was however excited about the return of all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and pacer Shafiul Islam. Shakib was rested for the Zimbabwe trip while Shafiul missed the tour due to a shoulder injury.
"We have got back our two vital players. And the encouraging fact is that some of our batsmen returned to form during the Zimbabwe series, so I am confident that everybody will do their duty in the coming tour to win all the matches,” he hoped.
The Tigers, who leave Dhaka on Wednesday, will play three T20 internationals against Ireland and then play one each against Scotland and Netherlands.
Mushfiqur also informed that new coach Richard Pybus has been developing some new ideas with the players and is trying to advance with a long term plan.
"We had a long discussion session today ISaturdayl where our coach focussed on many things like where we want to see our team after ten years," said Mushfiqur.
The skipper also said that he was
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happy to see five Bangladesh players selected for the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL).
"It is simply a reflection of our good performance," said a confident Mushfiqur, who along with Shakib, Tamim Iqbal, Nasir Hossain and Elias Sunny were picked by the seven franchises via a draft system for the inaugural SLPL which will be held in Colombo and Pallekele over August 10-31.