Still on a learning curve, Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful on Saturday said the home tri-series against India and Pakistan is an ideal opportunity for his side to take another step towards becoming a world-class outfit.
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"We have put the past performances as history. We are now fully focused towards performing well first in the tri-series and then take the success to the Asia cup in Pakistan," Ashraful said in a press conference ahead of Sunday's series opener against Pakistan.
"We have the best 14 players available in Bangladesh. Our confidence levels are high since we are playing at home and hopefully we will beat Pakistan before taking India in our second match," he added.
Ashraful rued the team's unpredictable form and said the only way to become more consistent was to develop a quality bench strength.
"On a given day we can beat any team. We are improving and have a strong bench strength with youngsters raring to get the national call. We need more time to rise higher on rankings. Every one is learning at the moment," he said.
"We do have our targets for the tri-series and the Asia Cup but I am not willing to reveal them now. Our focus is presently on the tri-series."
Ashraful said he would be aiming to lead by example by showing some fine batting form.
"As a captain, actually I need to perform as batsman. In the last few games I did not score much. I am hopeful that I will bat well in this tournament and support my team.
"I am not struggling. I am batting well but not getting big scores. If you are not scoring, there is definitely a little bit of pressure on you," he said.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons said the team has shown improvement but emphasised the need for consistency to achieve better results.
"We have shown improvement and been playing competitive cricket at the moment. A win tomorrow would be fantastic. We cannot win without bowling, batting and fielding properly," he pointed out.
"We are not going to win if the players do not adhere to these requirements. They are on a massive learning curve and had their grounding well."
