Mushfiqur Rahim has played a brilliant innings against Sri Lanka on Sunday as his magnificent 57 not out off 37 helped Bangladesh set a difficult mark of 171 for Sri Lanka but they easily chased down the target.
In a pre-match press conference a few days ago, Mahmudullah remarked that all the outside noise and media criticism had an impact on the players. When asked about the off-the-field difficulties, Mushfiqur responded,
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"There will be a lot of chatter outside. You will be lauded when you do well. You will be criticised when you fail. It's not my first year. I have been watching, hearing these things for the last 16 years. Those who are saying these kinds of things about us, go check yourselves in the mirror. They don't play for the country, we do. We all want to do well. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't."
After the opening onslaught, Shakib Al Hasan got Bangladesh back into the game with two quick wickets.
Despite Sri Lanka's batters going off, Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah held him back. Mushfiqur stated why this choice was made.
"It was part of the plan. The wicket was good. The left-handers were well-set. We thought we would bring Shakib on during the slog overs. He is a champion bowler and is used to bowling during that phase. But I think it wasn't the reason behind we lost," said Mushfiqur.
