Herath urges Bangladesh to comeback strongly against Australia

Bangladesh spin bowling coach Rangana Herath stressed on the needs to comeback strongly and build the winning mindset and confidence by winning the match against Australia, which will be Tigers last match in the Super 12 of the ongoing T20 World Cup.

The Tigers had already been out of the semifinal race after losing four straight matches but Herath said that to take Bangladesh cricket way forward, the cricketers should think about victory in the upcoming matches always regardless of what happened in the past.

"As I said, as a professional, we need to come back strongly. The thing is we have another one game to go. So in that case we need to keep that, maintain that winning mindset and we need to build that winning confidence," Herath said today during Bangladesh's pre-match conference against Australia.

"We need to think about the way forward of Bangladesh cricket. So we have another chance to win against Australia tomorrow. So I'm sure that the guys will analyse what they have done and what they have to do. Those are the things. I'm sure those guys will come back strong tomorrow against Australia."

Just two months ago, Bangladesh won a five-match T20 International series against Australia by 4-1 and Herath, the former Sri Lanka great believes his side has the ability to replicate that result.

"We should all understand the responsibilities and roles whether you are playing for Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. If you can identify that role, and then improve day by day. A cricketer has to realise if he/she wants to be a good or great cricketer. One needs to be more professional, work harder and challenge yourself. In that way you can improve individually and as a team," said Herath who is second highest wicket-taker of Sri Lanka in Test after legendary offspinner Muttiah Muralidharan.

Herath also said that the winning confidence is particularly important for Bangladesh since they have two major series against Pakistan at home and New Zealand at away coming up. So according to him, there is no reason to just think about what happened in the World Cup.

"We haven't had a good outing so far in this World Cup. It is part of the game. We need to look at how we can improve as a team and individual. It is the challenge for the coaches, but these guys are capable of better performances. We have another game to go, I am sure the guys will do their best," he said.

"We need to get ready for the next few tours against Pakistan and New Zealand. We need to get the winning combination and winning confidence. We need to think about the way forward for Bangladesh cricket."

At the same time, according to Herath, problems aplenty for Bangladesh in terms of all three departments-batting, bowling and fielding. "We need to appreciate that Bangladesh team qualified for the Super 12s. We played well against Sri Lanka but unfortunately we lost that game. I think we need to improve in all three departments. As a coaching unit, we have to look after those challenges."