Mahmudullah hopes for a turnaround after NZ whitewash

Mahmudullah Riyad, Bangladesh's T20I skipper, said they would like to forget the humiliation of the New Zealand tour where they were whitewashed in the three ODIs and as many T20Is.

Bangladesh travelled to New Zealand with high hopes and were determined to earn their maiden win in their backyard, but hardly managed to put up a fight in any of the games apart from the second ODI.

"I think we will probably want to forget this series," said Mahmudullah after the final game on Thursday (April 1). "We came here to achieve something. We have been touring for the last few years but this time we were up for the contests but we didn't reach up to our own standards."

"Over the series, we didn't play our best cricket. We came here early and prepared in Queenstown. Boys were doing the hard yards, but we didn't put up a show."

Mahmudullah himself did not feature in the last game due to side strain but made his disappointment apparent after the side was bowled out for just 76 in 9.3 overs. "I think strategically probably it is quite an obvious answer. When you get bowled out for 70-odd, there isn't much to take out of it," he said, adding that he is not ready to use bio-bubbles as an excuse, despite admitting it was tough.

"We maintained the rules for the people of New Zealand. Quarantine is definitely tough. After eight days in the room, they gave us permission to go out of the room for two hours for some practice. Preparation-wise we were okay. But we didn't perform really well. We knew that it will be difficult for us. Every team has difficulty playing against the Kiwis. Recently, Australia had a tough time. We knew we had to be at our best in batting, bowling and fielding to beat the Kiwis," he said.

Mahmudullah said that they needed to pull up their socks ahead of the T20 World Cup adding that he is keenly waiting to make a turnaround during the home series against New Zealand, England and Australia ahead of the global tournament that is scheduled in India from October.

"We need to change things around quickly. We badly need some wins under our belt in any format, as I think we are losing confidence in our team. At the end of the day, if you don't win it will create doubt about yourself and the whole team. We are looking forward to those big series against England, Australia and New Zealand ahead of the T20 World Cup. We have to properly use the home advantage."-Cricbuzz