Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal has on Friday (May 21) urged his team to “express themselves” and “give more than 100 percent” to win the games in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, as the Tigers are aiming to end the international drought with the home series.

Since beating West Indies 3-0 in an ODI series in January 2021, Bangladesh has gone winless in 10 straight international games – four Tests, three ODIs, and three T20Is while they also lost 3-0 ODI series to Sri Lanka when they last met in the format back in 2019.

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Well, the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka is a must-win assignment for Bangladesh in terms of the 2023 World Cup qualification and Iqbal said the Tigers need to improved their fielding apart from their best batting and bowling show to improve their rank.

Tamim told a virtual press conference on Friday: “We have played with most of the Sri Lanka players. We know that they are a quality side. We won't have anything easy, and we have to give more than 100 percent to win games against them.”

He also confirmed that the star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will bat in his favorite no.3 spot – at the position he scored 606 runs in the 2019 World Cup in the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka.

The skipper further added, “Shakib will bat at number three. There will be expectations but we also have to remember what Shakib did at the World Cup — scoring 600-plus runs in nine matches — is not always possible. I would love for him to bat like that every day but it is a very rare performance. If it doesn't happen, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. I won't panic in that case.”

The ODI series will get underway on May 23 (Sunday) at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka followed by the second and final ODI on May 25 and 28 respectively at the same venue.

(With AFP Inputs)