Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto wants to end his side's losing streak in ODI and T20 format on New Zealand soil by winning those two series this time around, reports BSS.
His statement appeared to be bold, considering the fact that Bangladesh won only one match across three formats in New Zealand so far. But that landmark Test victory, which came in Maunt Maunganui last year gave Tigers the confidence to win the series.
"To be honest, as a team, our goal is to win both of the series here. Our team has been playing excellent cricket lately. Last year, we had won a Test here. Now our target is to win the ODI and T20 series. If we can do so, it would be tremendous for us," Shanto said while unveiling the ODI trophy in Dunedin along with Black Caps captain Tom Latham on Friday.
Bangladesh lost all of their 16 ODIs and nine T20Is on New Zealand soil so far. The stat looked horrible but Shanto refused to think about what happened in the past.
He rather relies on their familiarity about the New Zealand players after playing against them frequently in the last six years.
"We have known most of the cricketers of New Zealand. A few of them are completely new but we have collected their footage. During the team discussion, we'll definitely talk about them and will try to devise a good plan," he remarked.
Bangladesh won the lone practice match here against New Zealand XI by 26 runs, which is another source of the confidence. After putting up 334, Bangladesh bowled out the local team for 308 with most of their players coming up with their best.
Shanto wants the players to translate their practice match performance to the ODI series, which he thought would ease their task.
"The guys played really well. The wicket was good. Everyone looked up to the mark. The New Zealand XI also played good cricket. We are confident about this series," he added.
Bangladesh will start the ODI series on Sunday with the first ODI in Dunedin. Nelson and Napier will host the rest of the two ODIs on December 20 and 23.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
