Despite uncertainty, Bashar hopes Tigers head to WC with confidence

With Bangladesh’s participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup clouded by uncertainty, former selector and Chattogram Royals mentor Habibul Bashar has urged the players to focus on confidence gained from recent performances rather than dwelling on off-field issues.

Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto had earlier remarked during the Sylhet phase of the Bangladesh Premier League that some form of disruption seems to arise before every World Cup, often affecting the team’s focus. Bangladesh are currently in talks with the International Cricket Council (ICC) after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) decided not to play its World Cup matches in India, a situation that has inevitably shifted attention while players continue to feature in the BPL.

“You’ll notice that before every World Cup, there’s always some incident that takes place,” Shanto had said in Sylhet. “As a player who has played one or two of these tournaments, I can tell you it affects us. But we act as if nothing affects us because we are professional cricketers.” 

Addressing the media after Chattogram’s practice session on Tuesday, Bashar said the uncertainty should not distract the players.

“This situation is not in the hands of the players. If I were a player, I would focus on performing well in the BPL. While players naturally discuss these things among themselves -- talking about the present and the future is normal -- they are all professionals,” Bashar said.

Bangladesh have played 24 T20Is since July last year, winning 14, and Bashar believes those performances should be the team’s reference point heading into the World Cup. With the squad already announced and only limited scope for changes by January 31, the BPL remains the final platform for building confidence and pushing for any last-minute inclusion.

“While these are setbacks, we should be confident about how we have played over the last six months. We understand our brand of T20 cricket and our roles as a team. Instead of making excuses, we should focus on doing well in the World Cup,” Bashar said.

Although he admitted such situations are undesirable before a major event, Bashar stressed that using them as excuses would only hurt the team’s campaign.