We play with a different attitude against India, says Bangladesh U19 bowler Rakibul Hasan

In February 2020, the Bangladesh U19 Team beat India U19 in the final of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup played in New Zealand. Led by Akbar Ali, Bangladesh lifted their first ever U19 title. It was the 17-year-old Rakibul Hasan, who hit the winning run, taking a single off Atharva Ankolekar.

In a recent interview, Rakibul Hasan said that the team’s energy doubles when playing against India. “We have played a lot of matches against India, tri-nation series, Asia Cup. When we see them, something triggers in our mind. Our pace bowler gets crazy when he sees India. He bowls very aggressively. And Sakib is already more aggressive. Aranya (Avishek Das) also got a chance that day,” Rakibul was quoted as saying in BDcrictime.

In the U19 World Cup final, the the pace trio of Shoriful Islam, Avishek Das and Tanzim Hasan Sakib picked up seven wickets.

Hasan ended the tournament with 12 wickets including a five-wicket haul against South Africa. He said that against India, the players automatically get charged up. “Honestly, we play with a different attitude against India. I don’t know why we try to play a little more aggressively when we play against them. So, we don’t have to trigger anyone separately. Everyone becomes aggressive on their own,” Rakibul Hasan stated.

Loss in Asia Cup final motivated us: Rakibul Hasan

Rakibul Hasan also recalled the loss to India in the Asia Cup final last year. Bangladesh lost the game by five runs despite bowling out India for a mere 106 runs. It was in that loss that Bangladesh found the motivation to beat India in the future.

“Our national team lost in the final of the Asia Cup because maybe luck was not with us. When we lost, some people in the neighbourhood, friends saying neither seniors could beat India nor you guys could. After hearing these, when we played against India, these words came to our mind. If we could beat them, our fans would also be happy,” Rakibul Hasan added.