Arjuna Ranatunga urges Bangladesh team to prepare themselves for 2023 world cup

Sri Lanka’s world cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has urged the Bangladesh cricket team’s management to plan thoroughly for the 2023 world cup. He was very impressed with the Tigers’ performance in the recently concluded Test series against hosts Sri Lanka. Ranatunga believes that with a long-term plan in place, Bangladesh has what it takes to win the mega-event of 2023.

In what was a landmark 100th test for the nation, Bangladesh created history by winning their first ever Test against the Lankans in Sri Lanka. They came from behind to pull off a remarkable victory against a strong Sri Lankan side.

Ranatunga was all praises for the Tigers’ show of grit and resilience. He advised the team management to now focus on winning the 2023 world cup.

“They need to focus on the young crop of players. They need to play a lot of ‘A’ team cricket and should undertake lot of under-19 tours. When we won the World Cup in 1996, we had a long term plan. Bangladesh should undertake something similar. I believe they are on the right track,” Ranatunga was quoted as saying to Cricbuzz.

“My advice is to plan for the 2023 World Cup now itself. In 2023, the World Cup will be played in the sub-continent. They should invest a lot on the current under-19 side and the under-23 side to get the desired results six years from now. If they plan properly, I think it could not be difficult to win the World Cup in the subcontinent. Draw up a plan saying that you want to reach the semi-finals in 2023 and things will fall in line,” Ranatunga added.

Currently, Bangladesh has a balanced side that includes youth, talent, and experience at the same time. The likes of Shakib al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza are seasoned cricketers who have been at the top of their game. On the other hand, youngsters like Mustafizur Rahman are making serious headway into the cricketing arena.”Bangladesh have some players who can bowl at good pace and they have a very good left-arm pacer in Mustafizur. I am very impressed with him. He needs to be protected. In order to win the World Cup, Bangladesh need to find their own Aravinda de Silva as well,” Arjuna Ranatunga shared.

The former Sri Lanka skipper had even made predictions about Bangladesh’s performance at the Test level. The team has indeed improved in leaps and bounds and are rightfully labeled today as giant killers.”I told three years ago that the way Bangladesh is going they will beat Sri Lanka in Tests. That happened in this series. Their commitment is good. I have played in Bangladesh three seasons, in Mohammedan in 87-89. It was nice to see them do well. Sadly it was against Sri Lanka.

Arjuna Ranatunga was satisfied by the initiative the Bangladesh cricket authorities have taken over the years. He shared, “When I used to play in Dhaka, I told authorities to improve and invest on school cricket. They have successfully implemented it. Some Sri Lankan coaches too have helped Bangladesh cricket in last decades. The current coaches are doing a fine job too. I think Bangladesh Cricket Board is more focused than Sri Lanka Cricket at the moment.”

Bangladesh has just completed one of their most successful tours in their history. The three series in each of the three formats of the game were tied 1-1 in what was a very well-balanced month of cricket between the two sides.