I think sometimes our worst enemy is Bangladesh, says Neil McKenzie
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Bangladesh's batting consultant Neil McKenzie has cited the weightage of expectations as the reason for Bangladesh's recent shortcomings at the international arena. McKenzie further asserted that the team had a lot of talented cricketers and that they need to be trusted and given time to succeed.
After Bangladesh's shocking defeat on home soil against new-comers Afghanistan, Test skipper Shakib Al Hasan launched a scathing attack on the whole team, blasting them for the lack of character and mettle on the field. Last week, once again, Bangladesh almost slipped to yet another embarrassing defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe, but were rescued by late heroics by Atif Hossain and Mosaddek Hossain.
Now, batting consultant Neil McKenzie has come forward and stated that the weight of expectation on the team often tends to take a toll on them but insisted on the need to keep faith on the players. He loathed the pressure put on the players by the media and spectators after a string of failures and said that they are not machines and are bound to fail every now and then.
"I think sometimes our worst enemy is Bangladesh. Because we put too much pressure on ourselves. That's come from the spectators and media and everybody to trust. They are not machines, they are humans. We just get behind our team and back our team and even if we lose tomorrow, we will win the next game," McKenzie was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
"We don't come out to lose. As soon as they don't score in one or two games and everybody gets excited and upset. International cricket is hard cricket and best in the world also fail. But we have to keep faith on the talented bunch of cricketers. Bangladesh got a lot of talented cricketers and we need patience," he added.
One player who has come under the scanner has been left-hander Soumya Sarkar, who has been criticized for his lack of application and his inconsistency with the bat. McKenzie was quick to come to the defence of the southpaw, stating that he has the ability to play match-winning knocks and all he needed was backing from the selectors and supporters.
"Soumya Sarkar, he came well in the Ireland final against West Indies. You guys have definitely watched that on TV. He scored fifty in no time. He is a proper player and he needs belief. He can't have people questioning his ability all the time," he said of Sarkar.
"He has come back with a lot of big hundreds. He got a great 80 against Zimbabwe five to six months ago. He had a great tour in Ireland. He showed glimpses what he could have done in the World Cup. We just need to trust these guys and give them backing. You can't score hundreds in all the time," he added.
He also backed misfiring opener Litton Das, who has failed to score a fifty in each of his last seven innings across all formats.
"Liton Das, we have seen what he can do. He got a 140 in the Asia Cup, that's not four years ago. He has great 90 against West Indies in an unbelievable historical chase in Taunton. So these guys can play. Hopefully, selectors chose them for long enough and get out your little performances there because they all are good players," he said.
