Bashar pleads for patience

Bridgetown, Barbados: "Please be patient. Bangladesh will soon emerge as a strong cricket-playing nation," says Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh skipper.

His team was riding high after victories over India and South Africa in this tournament but were brought down to earth with a thud by Ireland. On April 15, Ireland stunned Bangladesh by 74 runs at the Kensington Oval.

"Our aim is to gain consistency. We sometimes do well in one department of the game and perform badly in the others. So we need to find a solution to this problem. Only by being consistent in all departments of the game on the same day can we win matches," he noted.

Talking more about their irregular performance, he added, "We came to the World Cup wanting to do something special. And we did create a flutter when we beat India and South Africa. But we have realised that if we need to be identified as a strong cricketing nation, we must be consistent in our performance at a very high level.

Need for consistency

"Playing one day like champions and another day like a weak team will not do us any good."

Will his team's future plans be affected if they lose their coach Dav Whatmore to India?

His reply was: "I have not heard anything to the effect that we are losing the services of Whatmore. He has worked hard with us for four years and has lifted our standards. But we have to still move forward even if we lose Whatmore."

He said, "We participated in this World Cup with a very young team.

"If we manage to retain the same players, we should be a strong side in time for the next World Cup."

On whether more players from the Under-19 team would be included in the Bangladesh senior team, the skipper said: "We have a very strong youth team and they are capable of beating any team at that age level. It is a good sign and that promises a good future for Bangladesh."

Does he think his team has players who have world class calibre?

"Yes, Mohammad Ashraful, Saqibul Hasan and Tamim Iqbal can dominate any bowling in the world. Among our bowlers, Mashrafe Mortaza can turn out an excellent strike bowler provided he maintains his fitness."