He was talking to reporters at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at noon before leaving for New Zealand.
Eight players of Bangladesh cricket team -- Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Soumya Sarkar, Mustafizur Rahman, Sabbir Rahman, Liton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nayeem Hasan -- along with the head coach and team manager Khaled Masud Pilot left Dhaka as the first group of the main team. The remaining players and support staff will depart after the final of the ongoing BPL on February 8.
“I hope we’ll win some games. It’ll be great for us to win some games there though it’s not easy as was proved last time. But, we’re very happy with the recent performances of the players,” Rhodes said.
“We’ll be doing our very best in the ODIs. But the things are very difficult in Test cricket. At the same time, we’re a little bit better equipped now to play away from home. Hopefully, we can produce some results in the Test matches as well,” the head of the Tigers further said.
Sabbir, who was added to the team in a questionable way, also talked to the media. He said: “The New Zealand series is like a second chance to me. I’ll try to exploit it properly, I’ll try to make it countable. I played in New Zealand two times. So, I have a decent idea on the weather and wicket of New Zealand. I believe this experience will help me take the advantage.”
Sabbir played five ODIs in New Zealand and scored 155 runs at an average of 38.75 which is better than his career average of 24.51. He had struck an unbeaten 42 in New Zealand which remained as his best ODI knock in the country.
Mehidy, the right-handed all-rounder who was among the eight Bangladesh players who went to New Zealand today, thinks adapting with the condition will be the first challenge for them. At the same time, he thinks the past experience of playing in New Zealand will help them adapt to the condition faster.
“We’re going to New Zealand a few more days ago. It’ll help us adapt to the condition which is the first challenge for us,” Mehidy said. “We’ve played in New Zealand before. So, adapting to the condition will be easier this time.”
Bangladesh will lock horns with the hosts in three ODIs and as many as Tests. While the three ODIs will take place on February 13, 16 and 20 respectively, the three-match Test series will be held sequentially on February 28, March 8 and 16.
The forthcoming series is regarded as the final phase of Bangladesh’s preparations ahead of the World Cup. Bangladesh’s next assignment after the New Zealand tour will be tri-series in Ireland where West Indies will be the third team along with the hosts and the Tigers.