Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said his players can’t afford to be complacent in the ODI series against Zimbabwe which starts on Sunday.
The Tigers hold the upper hand against Zimbabwe in Sunday’s match in Dhaka with the African side low on confidence having lost three ODIs and two T20s during their recent tour of South Africa.
Zimbabwe have not won an ODI in Bangladesh since 2010 while the hosts are on a high having made it to the final of the Asia Cup in the UAE where they lost to India off the final ball of the tournament.
“If we win everyone will say this is what should have happened. But if we lose they will take it differently,” Mortaza was quoted as saying by AFP.
“It can create pressure at the back of the mind. It’s not as though we have never lost to Zimbabwe.”
Mortaza said the three-match series is crucial as Bangladesh only have four more series to prepare for the 2019 World Cup in England.
“They have almost all their senior players back and outside Zimbabwe they have the best record in Bangladesh. So we have to give 100 per cent,” he said.
The visitors lost their warm-up match to to a Board XI by eight wickets but captain Hamilton Masakadza said his side remains upbeat.
“We didn’t have a great time in South Africa or in the match yesterday. But the main thing is to focus on tomorrow and to focus on the tour and what we have come to achieve,” he said.
“We can only go up from where we are and we are really looking forward to this. The guys are upbeat.”
