- ‘No pressure, it’s inspiring’ – Najmul Hossain on Bangladesh’s fourth-place finish in the WTC Bangladesh ctain Najmul Hossain says his team’s fourth-place finish in the WTC standings is a source of motivation rather than stress as they prepare for the West Indies series.
- “No pressure, it’s inspiring” – Najmul Hossain on Bangladesh’s fourth-place finish at the WTC (Photo by Albert Perez – CA/Cricket Australia via ) Bangladesh are fourth in the World Test Championship rankings and are preparing to take on the West Indies in a two-match series on October 28 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
- The series is part of the WTC cycle, with the second test scheduled to begin on November 5 in Sylhet.
‘No pressure, it’s inspiring’ – Najmul Hossain on Bangladesh’s fourth-place finish in the WTC Bangladesh ctain Najmul Hossain says his team’s fourth-place finish in the WTC standings is a source of motivation rather than stress as they prepare for the West Indies series.
“No pressure, it’s inspiring” – Najmul Hossain on Bangladesh’s fourth-place finish at the WTC (Photo by Albert Perez – CA/Cricket Australia via ) Bangladesh are fourth in the World Test Championship rankings and are preparing to take on the West Indies in a two-match series on October 28 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. The series is part of the WTC cycle, with the second test scheduled to begin on November 5 in Sylhet. Bangladesh have won three, drawn one and lost two of their six Tests in the current WTC cycle, including the recent series in Australia which ended 1-1.
Ctain Najmul Hossain spoke to the media ahead of the opening Test on Tuesday, October 27 and stressed that the team remains focused on the immediate challenge and not the bigger picture of the championship. Najmul said he is only concentrating on the first game and is not looking forward to the second encounter. Najmul’s proach to the series reflects a conscious strategy of managing expectations and keeping the focus on the task at hand.
The Bangladesh club has always stressed the importance of focusing on one game at a time rather than looking too far ahead in the championship cycle. “I am only thinking about this Test match and not even the second game of the two-game series. As a team, we are always thinking about how we are going to play this game or series,” Najmul was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
Najmul dismissed the idea that Bangladesh’s fourth-place finish put additional pressure on the team. Instead, he portrayed the situation as a source of inspiration for the team as they look to improve in the longest format. The ctain emphasized that the process set by the team has produced results and there is no reason to deviate from it.
“For me it’s not pressure, it’s inspiring (being in the top four) and I find it inspiring that scenarios like this come up in Test cricket. I wouldn’t call it pressure because ever since we started preparing or started discussing this series, we have been focusing on how we played Test cricket in the last series and even in the last few years,” Najmul said. Bangladesh’s Test win against Australia in Darwin in August boosted the team’s confidence in its ability to compete at the highest level.
Najmul noted that the players already had a strong desire to improve in Test cricket before this win and Darwin’s success has only strengthened their commitment to the format. “Of course, winning the Darwin Test boosted the confidence and belief of the players. That’s only to be expected.
But before that, the players have already shown a strong desire to improve in this format,” said Najmul. “They really want to play in this format. This desire has only increased since the victory.
“In addition, I have noticed an increased anticipation among the players about the date of the next test match,” he added. The Bangladesh player also highlighted the role that crowd support plays in motivating the team. He pointed out that the enthusiasm generated by Test cricket in the country is a strong source of inspiration for the players.
“It’s also really heartwarming to see how excited people are for Test cricket. They look at it and talk about it. This is a great source of inspiration for us.
As I mentioned earlier, if we can improve our current situation by another 20 to 30 percent, it will improve the position of our national team and, God willing, we will achieve something even better,” Najmul said. Concerns over player availability Concerns over player availability arose on the eve of the first Test. Mushfiqur Rahim suffered a blow to his hand while training at the BCB Academy ground on Tuesday (October 27) and received treatment on the ice before leaving the net.
The exact extent of the injury was still unclear at this point. Bangladesh were also looking after the fitness of Litton Kumar Das, who is recovering from a right hip injury sustained while making a century while scoring in Bangladesh’s second innings in a Test against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi in early October. Najmul remained confident about both players’ prospects for the opening Test.
He acknowledged that the team was awaiting final medical reports but expressed omism that they would take part. “He (Litton) is doing well so far. He also worked on his physical condition this morning.
But we have not received the exact report from the physio and trainer yet.” Najmul said. “InshaAllah, we hope for a positive outcome. If everything goes well, he will play.
But I still haven’t received the report, so I can’t say anything with 100% certainty,” he added.
