'No personal goal, no extra pressure in my last World Cup', says Mashrafe Mortaza
Dubai: Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has pointed out that he does not have any “personal goal” and will not take “any extra pressure” in his last ICC Cricket World Cup.
"This is definitely my last World Cup. I have to perform as a player, and of course, my role as captain is going to be important too. I have to fulfill my duties, but there is nothing more I can do. I do not have any personal goals. I never want to take any extra pressure,” ICC quoted Mortaza, as saying.
"I am a believer in luck. So what is meant to happen, will happen. It is also not that I will do any extra preparation. It is just another big tournament for us and we want to play well to make it memorable. Nothing is impossible, but it will be very important for us to handle the ups and downs," he said.
The 35-year-old said that Bangladesh squad named for the forthcoming marquee event is similar to the squads that contested the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and Asia Cup 2018, adding, the players that have got the ticket to England for the World Cup, are the “best available” in the team.
"It is the same team apart from one or two players, which has been playing together for the last two-three years but we do not have any trophy to show even though we played some finals," he said.
"The team did not do anything so significant in the meantime that they should have been termed as the best team. This kind of tag creates unnecessary pressure on the players. I do not want to say it is the best team but yes, we are going to play the World Cup with our best available team. That is it," Mortaza said.
The 50-over tournament, beginning May 30, will see 10 teams competing in a round-robin format, with the top four sides qualifying for the semi-finals. So, the squad depth will be the key to stay at the top.
"No doubt this World Cup is going to be tougher for us because of the format. But I still believe we are capable of doing something extraordinary. Just we need to start the tournament on a good note. We need to take it to match by match rather than thinking too far,” Mortaza said.
Bangladesh will play Pakistan and India in the warm-ups, before opening its World Cup campaign against South Africa on June 2 at The Oval.
