Bangladesh’s cricket coach Phil Simmons is famous for his calm, expressionless face. After his poker face went viral when Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka in a Super 4 game of the Asia Cup, fans and journalists kept asking why he doesn’t smile.Simmons has now promised that he will only show his emotions if Bangladesh get knocked out or win the tournament.
“I’m the kind of person who can control my emotions. We didn’t come just to win against Sri Lanka; we came to be champions. You’ll see the emotions only if we get knocked out or become champions. For now, my job is to keep everyone grounded in the dressing room,” Simmons told prothomalo.com.
Bangladesh finished in the second spot on the points table of group B, but their four-wicket win over Sri Lanka has increased their hopes of reaching the Asia Cup final. Simmons believes that his team can compete with India as they are focused on playing well.
Even though Bangladesh have struggledagainst India in past in T20Is, they are stayingpositive. Wicketkeeper-batter Jaker Ali said, “There is no question of giving up hope. We will play to win the match. We came with a winning mentality in this match too, it didn’t happen. We will go into the next match with a winning mentality as well. There is no other way. We have not just come to play matches in the tournament, we have come to be champions. We can’t give up hope after losing one match.”
Simmons also shared his view about the pitch to prabhasakshi.com where he said, “I’ve not seen the wicket change much in 40 overs. It’s one of the finest wickets in the world to bat on. India-Pakistan was proof of the good track. Bowlers will need to bowl well or it helps batsmen fully. I don’t think toss will make much of a difference.”
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