Bangladesh’s series win over Australia by a margin of 4-1 is a big step towards becoming a big team in future, believes Bangladesh all rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who won the player of the series award.

Bangladesh played this series without the services of Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Liton Das, who are integral parts of the Bangladesh T20I setup. Despite their absence, young Bangladeshi players did well and lifted the title. 

It was Bangladesh’s maiden series win against Australia. Before this series, the Tigers faced Australia in four T20Is but failed to win any of them. 

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“It was great to win this game without the service of some big players,” Shakib told the media after winning the fifth match of the series, in which he bagged four wickets. 

“It will surely inspire us more, and it will also help us to take the responsibilities in the coming days. When they will come back, our strength will surely increase,” Shakib added. 

Shakib believes that the young players created a healthy competition in the team. According to him, healthy competition is something that helps a team to become a big team. 

Along with Shakib, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam and Nasum Ahmed played tremendously well against Australia. In the third and fourth matches, Mustafizur conceded only nine runs each. His bowling performance against Australia became the talk of the cricketing world. 

Australian spinner Ashton Agar said Mustafizur is a “difficult customer”. More of Agar’s teammates came to praise Bangladesh’s left-arm pacer. 

Bangladesh will now take on New Zealand in early September. The Black Caps will arrive in Bangladesh later this month. They will also play a five-match T20I series against the Tigers. 

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Ahead of the New Zealand series, the Tigers were scheduled to take England at home. But the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have decided to play this series in March 2023.