The Bangladesh team will fly for Ireland on May 1 by a flight of Emirates Airlines to play a tri-nation series before heading for England to play the World Cup.
Mashrafe talked to the media in the press conference at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium before their departure.
“I don’t have any question (about the ability to win the World Cup). But the question is where we’re capable of scoring 320 or 330 on a regular basis. We didn’t do that many times in front of you or spectators but if we stay strong mentally in the World Cup, we’ll surely do that,” he told reporters.
It will be Bangladesh’s sixth appearance in the World Cup. In the previous edition in Australia and New Zealand, Bangladesh played quarterfinals for the first time in the history. But this time, the Tigers are upbeat to surpass the previous success.
Mashrafe told reporters that he has the best possible squad for the World Cup assault. “As a captain, I have to say I got the best possible team to play in the World Cup. We’re going to play the World Cup with our best team. But still, there’re some unfortunate decisions what I had to take. However, sometimes some unexpected decisions can be fortunate for a team,” he further said.
Bangladesh have played 32 matches across the last five World Cups and came up victorious in 11 of them. Their much-sought wins came against Pakistan in 1999 and against India in 2007.
Mashrafe believes the current squad has the ability to register more successes in the upcoming event in England and Wales.
“Since we have an experienced bunch of cricketers, we’re a balanced team now. Maximum of those who are relatively juniors also played at least a World Cup. But it doesn’t mean that we’re going to have a successful event ahead of us. We need to be united to do that,” Bangladesh captain further said.
“We have to play at least nine matches in the World Cup. Before that, we have to play in Ireland where we have at least four matches. We need to make sure we’re strong enough to handle the situation what comes along the way. We may have to go through ups and downs but we need to be firm to bounce back. We have to be ready to handle any situation from the tour of Ireland,” Mashrafe also told the reporters.
Along with the 15 members of the World Cup squad, Bangladesh are going to Ireland with four more players -- Taskin Ahmed, Farhad Reza, Nayeem Islam and Yasir Rabbi. Bangladesh captain said they got a golden chance to prove themselves in a greater stage.
“Since they’re now in the national team, they’re capable of doing something big. Everyone had faith in them. Yasir has been doing well in domestic cricket. He did well in BPL and took the responsibility. He did well in the first phase of Dhaka League as well. The thing was the same for Farhad Reza as he came back to the national side after a long break. However, Taskin was unlucky as he missed the tour of New Zealand due to an injury. If he had not that injury, he might have played more matches and got himself ready for the World Cup. Nayeem, the right-arm spinner, also has a good future. I believe they’re the future of Bangladesh cricket. I think the Ireland series will be a big achievement for them,” Mashrafe said to the media.
After playing the tri-series in Ireland between May 5 and 17, Bangladesh will head to England and Wales for the World Cup. The Tigers will take on South Africa on June 2 in their first match in London. After that, they will face New Zealand (June 5, London), England (June 8, Cardiff), Sri Lanka (June 11, Bristol), West Indies (June 17, Taunton), Australia (June 20, Nottingham), Afghanistan (June 24, Southampton), India (July 2, Birmingham), and Pakistan (July 5, London).
Bangladesh World Cup squad:
Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Mithun, Mosaddek Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (captain), Mohammad Saifuddin, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman and Abu Jayed Rahi.