DHAKA: Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim wants to see some of his out-of-form team-mates step up in the absence of Shakib Al Hasan, who is serving a six-month suspension.

Tigers’ captain, about West Indies tour, said that he is hopeful to play a competitive and better series, at a press briefing on Sunday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, reports the ESPN Crick Info on Sunday late night.

The report added that Mushfiq said "he (Shakib) is a big performer and has been a great contributor for the last eight years, but it isn't as if we were all relaxed when he was there," Mushfiqur said.


"Cricket is not a one-man game. We need at least three to four players to perform in our team, so from that aspect we are motivated that many players who haven't been in form have been working hard. Hopefully they can motivate themselves to work harder. They need to put in their best performance," he added.

However, following their 2-0 defeat to India in the ODI series in June, the Bangladesh squad took part in an extended camp that was divided into physical, mental and skill-wise training sessions. The team also played two practice matches, but Mushfiqur believes it is still not enough preparation for the Test series.

"The break will help no doubt but we haven't played in the longer version for a long time. So that will also be a challenge. We will be playing a one-day practice match in the West Indies, and then we will play a series and then a three-day practice match,” Mushfiq told media.

"We will be having enough opportunities to adjust to their conditions. We have played there before so we have an idea of the conditions. But everything depends on how we start and play over there," he added.

BDST: 1015 HRS, AUG 11, 2014