Captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is stunned to see the disappointment and heartbreaks all around at Bangladesh's "failure" to whitewash India in the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series.
Bangladesh's ODI captain in an interview to bdnews24.com has urged supporters not to harbour too many expectations from the team.
He left the hotel with the satisfaction of a series win against the two-time world champions which he considers as the greatest achievement during his captaincy. Yet, he just cannot have peace of mind. He is surprised as well as disappointed to hear the discussions and regrets over the 'Banglawash' not happening.
"Before the start of the series, everyone was asking for just one victory against India. Two wins in India and South Africa series would have been enough to qualify us for the Champions Trophy. Instead, we sealed the series against India by winning the first two matches. But despite that, after the third match people are discussing mostly about the Banglawash failure and not of the series being won," Mashrafe said.
He is little annoyed by the hysteria over Banglawash.
"We should not go on talking about 'Banglawash'. After all, we cannot always win all the matches of the series. Expectations of Banglawash in all the series also creates additional pressure. Our opponents also take to the field to win. We have to remember that they can also win," he said.
According to the 31-year-old, the supporters should gradually raise the level of expectations. Not only supporters, Mashrafe hopes that even media will also be a little bit more careful and responsible.
"Media have a big role to play here. When the media reports after the match about Banglawash not being achieved, it actually influences the people," said the pace bowler.
After the third match on Wednesday, he did not even wait until morning to be with his children. After returning to the hotel, he left for home in the wee hours. His daughter is very close to him. Even the youngest son has started recognising the father.
Amidst the serenity of the family ambiance, he is little disturbed by the reaction over failing to whitewash India. Hence, he is reminding everyone about the reality.
"Some people are behaving as if we have conquered the world. The reality is, even after the string of victories, we are seventh in ODI rankings. On the other hand, India even after losing against us continue to be in second position. This is because they have been consistently winning over the period. We can reach that place only if we win persistently," he reminded.
Another series is about to begin and Mashrafe is well aware that expectations will soar again. So he is urging the supporters to rein in their feelings.
"One should remember greed is never good. Even Allah doesn't like this. From cricketing perspectives, it may have negative impact on the youngsters. Of course we want to win all the matches and for that we give our best. But at the same time, it should be remembered that we cannot win all the matches," he said.
