08 March,2018 12:00 PM IST | Colombo | Anand Vasu
Mahmudullah
There is always a bit of needle when India play Bangladesh, but the absence of the two respective fiery captains, Virat Kohli and Shakib-al-Hasan, seems to have calmed things down to a great degree. Mahmudullah, who is leading Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy, refused be drawn into any comment about the Indian team, a departure from the barbs that Shakib enjoys sending the way of his opponents.
After Bangladesh's training session at the R Premadasa Stadium, Mahmudullah was composed. "I prefer being optimistic every game. India is still a strong side, though some of their experienced players aren't around on this tour. Their current squad has a lot of players who have the experience of playing in the IPL," said Mahmudullah. "If we can play good cricket, we will do well. There's no point thinking about the external factors, we are focused on our own game," he added.
When pressed about the absence of some big names in India's squad, Mahmudullah still would not take the bait. "I am not looking at that particular side, what I am looking at is playing some good, hard cricket. I am telling my boys to stick to our process, our strengths, knowing our strengths and weaknesses would be better for ourselves rather than thinking of other's stuff," he said. "India is still a very good side, we do have that respect. What we can do is play some good cricket on that particular day, if we can do so, execute our skills, hopefully we can do something good."
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Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have plenty of recent history, the two teams clashing in a One-Day Internaional tri-series, two Tests and two Twenty20 Internationals in Bangladesh during January and February. "Of course, one has to plan keeping the opponents in mind. We have played against Sri Lanka recently, so we know what challenges to expect from them. Same goes for them, they would know that too," said Mahmudullah. We can't step onto the field with an inch of a doubt, that won't help in this format, or any format. Especially, when the team is not going through a good spell, such doubts creep in but I have urged my teammates to keep those doubts away and step out."
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