You must have big goals for big tournaments: Habibul Bashar

Bangladesh have taken part in four major ICC events in the last four years and despite a lot of expectations back home, the Tigers failed to do well in any of them.

Leading up to this year's T20 World Cup, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto urged fans to keep their expectations "measured".

However, Habibul Bashar, former Bangladesh skipper and selector, doesn't completely agree with Shanto. Bashar understands that Bangladesh are slightly short on confidence in T20Is but feels it is a must to have a big goal in a big tournament. 

Bashar, who is currently the head of the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) women's wing, sat with The Business Standard (TBS) and spoke in detail about Bangladesh's World Cup chances, strike rate of the batters, Shanto's batting role, Litton Das' off-form, Mahmudullah's comeback, Mohammad Saifuddin's snub and so on.

What do you make of the Bangladesh squad for the T20 World Cup?

It's a good team. There will always be discussions regarding a couple of spots. But now that the team has been announced, I think these debates should stop now. We have to believe that this is the best team and need to support them.

How far can Bangladesh go in this year's tournament?

For some reason, we are not going into the tournament with high hopes although we had been in decent T20I form. Up until the Sri Lanka series, we played well in this format. But of late, the team's confidence is on the lower side and I am not sure what they are expecting from themselves. Not having high expectations is not a bad thing, but in such tournaments, you must set a goal. You must have big goals for big tournaments. We have to have the confidence that we can make the second round.

Captain Shanto urged everyone not to have high expectations. Will his realistic mindset positively influence the team's performance?

For me, the less we speak about the expectations and all, the better. What people say doesn't really matter. The captain expressed what he thought. It's not right to comment on that now. We are going to compete in a World Cup in a few days' time and how the team can do well is what I am thinking right now.

Do you think playing teams like Zimbabwe and the USA will be ideal preparation leading up to such a big event?

It would have been great if we played India, but that was not possible. In reality, it is not possible to play big teams now outside the FTP. So, playing Zimbabwe is quite handy keeping in mind the current situation. The matches against the USA will help us acclimatise with the conditions. We did not have the opportunity to play a big team, but I don't think playing Zimbabwe was a bad thing. 

Bangladesh struggled especially with the bat against a lesser opponent like Zimbabwe. Is it a big concern going into the World Cup?

We have nothing to do now even if it is a concern. We now have to think about the World Cup only. We cannot change what happened against Zimbabwe. The tournament next month should be the top priority. 

As the captain, should Shanto have scored quicker to set the tone?

Shanto bats at three. He has to play that specific role whether or not he is the captain. A number three batter has to score quickly. Shanto's strike rate has to be higher. But in the last T20 World Cup, he did well. I hope he will be back in form in the World Cup.

Litton's batting form, mode of dismissals and body language have raised many questions. How important is his batting form going to be for Bangladesh?

There will be a lot of chatter when a batter like Litton is out of form. His strike rate is still higher than most other top-order batters in the team. Litton is an experienced player and a proven performer. In the last T20 World Cup, he played an exceptional knock against India. But it's all in the past and recently he is not in form. It's important for him to come out of this phase. It's a concern if a team member does not perform. I hope Litton will be able to make amends in the World Cup. 

Have the Bangladeshi batters shown enough intent? Is strike rate more important than the volume of runs in this format?

Strike-rate is one metric which is at the center of attention everywhere in T20s. In the IPL, all the players bat keeping the strike rate in mind. If a top-order batter bats at a strike rate of 110, the team won't score more than 140-150. Anyone who bats at the top has to have a strike rate of around 140-150. We only have one batter - Towhid Hridoy - with a strike rate of 135 (133.93). That's why there is so much talk about strike-rate here. If you want to do well in T20 cricket, you have to score quickly. It's a team thing and depends a lot on the team's mindset. 

There was a lot of talk about Saifuddin's exclusion. 

We don't have a fast-bowling all-rounder. So when we play three frontline seamers, the batting looks thin. If the batters can't score big, then we have to face problems. Saifuddin is an experienced player and we could have taken that advantage. I think he was snubbed because of the last match. But he did not bowl too badly throughout the series. We don't have a player in the squad who bowls [pace] and bat like this. It would be better if he was there.

Taskin Ahmed has been named the vice-captain despite his injury. Overall, how does the bowling line-up look?

Our bowling attack is great. There has been a lot of talk about Safiuddin's snub but we have done well in the last couple of years without him. Mustafizur Rahman is good, and Shoriful Islam is extraordinary. Tanzim Hasan Sakib is a lucky charm. He provides breakthroughs at crucial stages. We have a few great bowling options in the team. We are not going with high expectations and that, I think, can bring good results. Because we have done well in this format since the last T20 World Cup. If Taskin the vice-captain does not play, then there will be Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah among other experienced players to help Shanto out.

Shakib is probably on the last leg of his career. What can we expect from him?

I don't think [he is on the last leg]. He can very well play in the next T20 World Cup. He has always been a steady performer and is still quite fit. It is up to him really. If he wants, he can play in the next World Cup too. I don't feel a Shakib or a Mahmudullah has to do well for us to have a good World Cup. We don't have many game-changing players. We have to win as a team.

Mahmudullah was not in the mix for a certain period of time when you were part of the selection panel. Then he roared his way back again. How do you see his return?  

It's a wrong perception. He was never out of the mix. We rested him for some time but he was always part of the plan. We want to see a bit of a change. We had to rest players like Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim to try out young guns like Hridoy. India always does that. 

But Mahmudullah has set an example. He could have said a lot of things but he decided to do what a true sportsperson would have done at that stage. There used to be a lot of criticism about his slow start, intent and fitness. So, I think the break helped him. He himself answered all the questions. That's a great example for the up-and-coming cricketers. His intent is better now, the fielding is great and the strike rate is much higher. I hope he does well in the World Cup.

Has T20 cricket progressed too far ahead for Bangladesh to catch up?

Of course. We are far behind. We could not make game-changing players. We have to prepare better pitches. Teams are regularly scoring 250-plus in the IPL and 260 is being chased down. All that is happening because of good pitches. There is pace and even bounce. But we play on 140-150 pitches. We have to think more pragmatically and that is how we can improve in this format.