Dhaka: Durbar XI pacer Syed Khaled Ahmed oozed confidence to seal the Odommo Bangladesh T20 Cup by beating Dhumketu XI, a team packed with the Bangladesh national cricketers. The confidence stemmed from Durbar's dominant performances in the group phase, where they beat both Dhumketu and Duronto, the other two teams in the tournament.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, although Khaled did not perform to his best in Durbar's thrilling two-wicket win over Dhumketu, his impressive spell of 4 for 23 proved instrumental in their seven-wicket victory over Duronto, a side made up of youngsters. Duronto eventually lost both their matches, setting up a final between Dhumketu and Durbar.
"I always enjoy my game in both white-ball and red-ball cricket. My target is always to give 100 percent," Khaled said. "We will play the final against Dhumketu, which is formed with current national players. Everyone from the national team has played here in our team too. Maybe they are not playing in the national side now, but everyone is experienced. Our team is very balanced. The bowling line-up is strong, I think. We will try to become champions in the final on February 9."
Speaking about his bowling plan, the right-arm pacer said, "I tried to hit the length. The plan was to bowl lengthwise. As a team, we planned to bowl stump to stump."
Despite Duronto being knocked out of the tournament, Khaled believes the young players have a bright future ahead. "I conceded 22 runs in two overs in the last match. Today I vowed to do well and I also told the coach. But they are still learning. They got a good platform and had a lot to show, but they couldn't," he said.
"But I believe they will come back stronger if they get another chance. They have a lot of courage and good skills. They have just come from the Under-19s and might go on to play high-performance cricket. If they improve their skills here, they will do even better in the future."