Bangladesh off-spinning spinner Mehidy Hasan acknowledged that although they were shocked from their regular captain Tamim Iqbal’s sudden retirement however it didn’t hit them ahead of their must win second game against Afghanistan at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram on Saturday. 

However, Bangladesh lost the three match ODI series by 2-0 after they suffered a thrashing 142-run defeat in the tie with one game to spare. 

‘All turned shocked. No one expected Tamim Bhai. We all were feeling bad. Still, since we are in the series and trained, we had no option but playing,’ said Mehidy in Chattogram after the match. 

With the forthcoming Asia Cup and ICC World Cup in mind the ongoing series was termed as the dress rehearsal for the Tigers as they would vie against the Afghans in both regional and global competition. 

No doubt the home side displayed their worst possible shows in their much-liked format at their backyard. 

Bangladesh had a brilliant outing at their home in 50-over cricket for the last eight years as they haven’t suffered a single series loss until the series against the touring England in March [2-1]. 

However, Mehidy believes that losing a series is not anything unusual adding that they finished with securing the third spot on the ICC Super League points that allowed them a direct qualification in the approaching marquee competition. 

‘If we do finish with below par performance in the series that doesn’t necessarily mean that we turned a bad side. It may happen in a series.’ 

‘We have done well in the World Cup qualification that allowed us among the four top contenders in terms of points.’ 

He further promised to overcome their errors before the upcoming major meets, which they made in the ongoing series. 

‘We have big tournaments ahead where we aim to fix our mistakes.’