Walsh urges BD to do away with the fear of losing

DHAKA: Bangladesh interim head coach Courtney Walsh believes that they should not play with the fear of losing when they take on Afghanistan in the upcoming three-match Twenty20 series at Dehradun, scheduled to begin from June 3.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) appointed Walsh as the interim head coach for the series against Afghanistan as they are yet to find a permanent replacement of Chandika Hathurusingha, who left unexpectedly last October.“I don't think we should be thinking that way [fear of losing],” Walsh told reporters in the pre-tour official press conference on Sunday (May 27).

“We have a series to play and we have to be positive and back ourselves. We have to be confident, and not think about losing,” Walsh said. “Afghanistan has a good team and if we play to our strength and depth, we should come out on top. The moment you are thinking of losing, then you get doubts and you don't perform at your best.” Walsh asked his bowlers to have the confidence while bowling in the middle. “I think it is a case of not being confident enough to execute,” he said. “They have to back themselves, to execute the team plan. There should also be a thought process about what they want to do.

“Once you are in the middle, you have to get the job done. The person who is bowling has to be confident enough and one of the ways of doing it is to be consistent. Hitting the areas you want to hit - yorkers or length.

“If you are bowling in your areas and a good shot is played, that's fine. You have to know what is required during competition time. We can talk about it in the dressing room and in practice, but when you are in the middle, unfortunately you have got to deliver. “The bowlers have to put their hands up, but not just Rubel or Fizz. Whichever seam bowler we use, we want them to stand out. Our spinners have always been consistent,” Walsh added.

Walsh believes that Rubel Hossain is well equipped as far as his bowling stock is concerned and asked everyone to back him after his poor showdown in the Nidahas Trophy final, which cost them the trophy. “We have got to help him,” Walsh said. “I think all of the guys have rallied around him. You feel that you have got the team down but I mean, he was one of the better bowlers on show. In the match situation, it just takes one bad delivery or a bad over to change the whole complexion of the game.

Walsh added that though Mustafizur Rahman is having a slight toe problem, the left-arm seam bowler would be ready before the Afghanistan series to fire from all cylinders.

“At the moment he has a slight toe problem. He is not 100 percent now. We have given him a couple of days off. We want him firing when we get to India. He has improved quite a lot. His strength has come back. I think he is getting there in his pace. I think he will deliver in India,” said Walsh.