Expected Bangladesh would win against India in CT 2017 semis: Junaid Khan

Veteran Pakistani speedster Junaid Khan has come a long way in international cricket. He is one of the key members of the Pakistani side and is known as one of the finest swing bowling prospects from his country. Currently, he is plying his trade for the Khulna Titans in the ongoing edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). He certainly is having a good time at the popular tournament.

Recently, as per the quotes in the Dhaka Tribune, Junaid Khan spoke at length about his experience in the tournament and his aspirations as a cricketer. Among all the questions that he answered, the question that would probably interest most of the cricket fans was about the captaincy of Mahmudullah. Junaid went on to quote that Mahmudullah is a great captain. He compared the Khulna skipper to the likes of MS Dhoni and Misbah-ul-Haq.

“He is a great captain. I have seen cool minded captain like MS Dhoni or Misbah-ul-Haq. They are always cool and calm in the field and they never shout to players in the field. Mahmudullah is similar to that. He also respect the seniors and take advice often if needed. Whenever unwanted things happen like dropped catch or misfielding or batsman getting out by playing loose shots or something like that, Mahmudullah never reacts angrily. He handles the situation calmly,” quoted Junaid Khan.

Bangladesh could have beaten India

In another interesting question, Junaid Khan was asked if the Pakistani team thought that the Bangladesh team could beat team India in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy 2017. Answering this, Junaid said that they certainly expected that as a possibility. He noted that the Bangladeshi team have improved a great deal and are no longer a pushover unit in the world cricket.

“Of course, Bangladesh have improved a lot. People thought “series against Bangladesh is easy” at one time. But time has changed. They have beaten England in Test and ODI in home. They have also whitewashed Pakistan and beaten India in ODI series. So they have improved a lot. Maybe BPL was one of reason as many youngsters have come through this kind of tournament. So yes we expected that Bangladesh can win the second semi-final against India. But anyway, Bangladesh lost in the end and it’s a part of game,” mentioned Junaid.