Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore has played down speculation that Bangladesh will be under pressure when facing India in their opening World Cup encounter on 17th March at Port of Spain.
Whatmore believes that his boys are aware about the “off the field” luminary status of the opponents but are equals on the field.
"I hope our guys are not influenced by the superstar status of Indian cricketers. Maybe off the field, but I would be very upset if it is on the field," said Whatmore who turned 53 today.
A win against India will definitely be his dream birthday gift from his Tigers.
"Once you walk on to the ground, we are equals. We would be looking to keep our focus despite who the person is, after all he too has got two arms and legs." Whatmore admitted that India is still favorite for the clash and his side will play as the underdog but he talked down the discussions about the minnow status of Bangladesh.
"I would like to know what minnows stand for in the Oxford Dictionary. We have beaten better ranked teams but yes they are all rated above us. India is just one of them. We have to contend with that and India is the first one." He added.
Whatmore preferred the term “surprise packets" to describe the young Tigers. Bangladesh’s group B tie with India will be their 150th one-day international.
© Khondaker Mirazur Rahman
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment