"Bangladesh need to come out of the box & play differently to beat New Zealand" - Mahmudullah Riyad

Bangladesh's T20I skipper Mahmudullah Riyad believes his team must come out of their shells if they are to win the upcoming 3-match T20I series against New Zealand. Bangladesh are yet to win a T20I encounter against the Blackcaps.

The visitors were thoroughly outplayed in the recently concluded ODI series against the Kiwis and lost the contest 3-0. Mahmudullah Riyad called on his team to learn from their mistakes ahead of the T20I series.

"I have said earlier that it's T20 format, and it can be anybody's game at any given day. We would need to keep in mind the mistakes that we made [in the ODI series] so that we can learn from them. But we also need to prepare so that the ODI results do not affect us in the upcoming [T20 matches]. If we need to beat New Zealand in New Zealand, then we would need to come out of the box and play a different type of cricket," Mahmudullah Riyad said in a video message to the BCB.

Absolutely stunning 😊 pic.twitter.com/uUGxY0bsot

— Mahmudullah Riyad (@Mahmudullah30) March 11, 2021

Mahmudullah Riyad believes his bowlers are in good form and it's the batsmen who need to pull up their socks and help the Tigers pull off an upset in the shortest format of the game.

"We need to fare better as a batting unit to give a certain amount of good total to the bowlers to defend. I think the bowling unit is in good touch. All the bowlers, including the [spinners] like Nasum [Ahmed], Mahedi [Hasan], [Mehedi Hasan] Miraz and all the other fast bowlers, are good enough to restrict them," the skipper added.

We need to grab on to any opportunity that comes our way: Mahmudullah Riyad

Bangladesh lost the ODI series against New Zealand 3-0.

Apart from their batting, Bangladesh's fielding left a lot to be desired in the ODI series. The Asian side had a decent chance to grab a win in the second encounter, where the hosts were reduced to 53-3 while chasing 272 for the win.

Bangladesh could have made further inroads, but they dropped catches from James Neesham and Tom Latham in the space of eight deliveries which shifted the momentum in favor of the home team.

Mahmudullah Riyad stated that his team will need to hold on to every small opportunity that comes their way. The Bangladesh skipper also explained how fielding in New Zealand is a challenge.

"I think game awareness is very important in conditions such as this [in New Zealand], where it is mostly windy. It is very important to be prepared for high catches and even flat catches as the ball travels really fast [in the air] here. And individually, be it me or any other fielder, we need to stay alert and adamant to grab on to any opportunity whenever presented during the game," signed off the Bangladesh captain.

New Zealand vs Bangladesh T20I schedule

Mar 28: 1st T20I, Seddon Park, Hamilton.

Mar 30: 2nd T20I, McLean Park, Napier.

Apr 1: 3rd T20I, Eden Park, Auckland.