Bangladesh allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin has said that he is looking forward to doing well in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka starting from May 23 in Dhaka.

Bangladesh’s last ODI series was in New Zealand against the hosts where they lost 3-0. They failed to pose any challenge to the Kiwis. But Saifuddin believes they can overcome that failure at home.

“It was very disappointing to lose all the games in New Zealand. We failed to play according to our ability,” Saifuddin told the media on Friday during a training session at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium ahead of the series.

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“Now we are set to play a series against Sri Lanka at home. I hope we can do better in this series. We have been working very hard during Ramadan, and many of us are fasting as well. We lost a Test series against them recently, so it’s a good chance to do well against them in ODIs. And at the same time, there are World Cup Super League points to grab from this series. So we have to do well,” Saifuddin added.

Bangladesh are currently placed at number six at the World Cup Super League points table with six wins and as many as defeats from six games. The top seven teams of this event will qualify to the World Cup 2023 with the hosts India.

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“The first ten overs are crucial to set a good foundation. So if we want to do well against the islanders, we have to take some quick wickets when we bowl first and we have to bat well when we bat first. We failed to do this in New Zealand. Now we are going to play at the familiar wicket and condition, so we have a good chance to do well,” Saifuddin added.

The 24-year-old allrounder played a total of 24 ODIs so far and bagged 34 wickets with the best of taking four conceding 41 runs and amassed 302 runs with two fifties. The allrounder played only two ODIs against Sri Lanka and failed to shine as he scored only 14 runs in two scalped a wicket.