Bashar welcomes Zimbabwe challenge

Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, has rubbished claims that his side's tour of Zimbabwe is unnecessary and poor preparation ahead of the World Cup. "I want to put aside all the debate surrounding the tour and my main objective is to make full use of the opportunity we have been given ahead of the World Cup," he told The Daily Star just prior to the team's departure for the four-ODI series.

Critics have cited Zimbabwe's poor form as a deterrent for the tour, suggesting that the Bangladesh players will be better off appearing in the current domestic one-day season. Bashar, however, promised to make full use of the chance to play international cricket. "Many might have thought that anything other than victory in Zimbabwe means it would be a setback for us ahead of the World Cup but I consider the whole thing in a different way," he said. "I think it's a mission for us to rectify the mistakes we made during the last trip. After a 5-0 victory at home I said that we have done only half the job; mission will be accomplished if we can now beat them in their own den."

Despite winning 18 out of 28 matches last year, Bashar admitted the sting of a 3-2 defeat in Zimbabwe: "I think it's a big challenge for us to erase the disappointing memories of our last tour. We won the last series against them by a 5-0 margin at home but I must say they are a much better team in their own conditions."

Bashar, 33, said he was satisfied with Bangladesh's preparation despite any practice sessions ahead of the tour. "I think it's not a big issue not being able to practice together because all the players have plenty of match practice which is a big advantage for us," he said. "I think Saqibul Hasan was exceptional, otherwise most of our batsmen has show a lack of consistency in the competition. But the good news is that some of our key batsmen have finally got some runs.

"It's really a good team because everybody can get a place in the playing eleven. I think performers dominated the squad this time. But I want to make one thing clear; I am not in favour of giving equal opportunity to all the selected players in the tour because I want to go in with my best side to win all the matches."