Sports Desk:

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan said on Saturday that they have a chance to go all the way in the upcoming ICCWT20 as they are confident on the back of recent success.

Bangladesh, who moved up to sixth place in the ICC T20 ranking, earned three successive T20 series win in the recent past.

Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe at Harare and followed that up by earning their maiden series win over Australia and New Zealand at their own back yard.

‘’It is difficult to say how far we can go but I feel we can go all the way to the World Cup,’’ Shakib told reporters on Saturday.

‘’We have to play match by match and if we can do well in the first round we will carry that confidence and we can give our best in the main round (Super 12),’’ he said.

Bangladesh are set to travel to Oman in early October for a preparation camp as the tourists will first have to play in the qualifiers and then the main event if they can finish first or the second in the group.

Bangladesh in the first phase of the competition have been slotted in Group B and will contest with Oman, Papua New Guinea and Scotland. In Group A Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia and Sri Lanka will contest.

Shakib said that though there is lot of criticism about the wicket it will hardly have an effect on them as the conditions in UAE and Oman will be completely different while added that winning is the best way to move forward.

‘’I think we have a good chance in the World Cup. We had a good preparation. There is lots of criticism regarding wicket and low scores but at the same time we have to understand that there is nothing gives you more confidence than win. A team carries a winning mentality after success and that gives you confidence to a different level but even if you play well and lose that (confidence) will not be there. We want to go to the World Cup with this confidence,’’ he said.

‘’We will go there 15-16 days before the World Cup and I feel that will be enough to adapt with those condition and wickets and I don’t think this pitch and condition will hardly have an impact over there. We have developed a winning mentality and want to go there with it,’’ he said adding that batsmen and precisely the openers should not be judged with their performance against Australia and New Zealand due to the wicket that was prepared for them.

‘’Everyone is off-form those who played these nine to 10 matches. Here no one (batsman) did very well that we can say he (openers) did badly so I feel we should not count these games to judge our batsmen,’’ said Shakib.

‘’I feel a batsman will end his career if he plays 10 to 15 matches here.  Everyone is trying and have the ability to win matches for the country,’’ he said.