Bangladesh journalists at the Asia Cup goaded a hint of a grin out of their men’s cricket coach Phil Simmons. A day prior, his poker face – despite the Bangla Tigers having beaten Lankans – had gone viral and puzzled their netizens for lack of emotion.
But after having beaten Sri Lanka and harboring hopes of beating India on Wednesday (they need one win either against India or Pakistan to get to the final), Simmons was asked about his expressionless visage.
Simmons’ response as quoted by prothomalo.com: “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.”
Bangladesh finished runner up in the pool stage, but the 4-wicket-win over Sri Lanka has invigorated them ahead of the Asia Cup Super-Fours clash, and the thinking is that the final is now within their reach.
While Simmons reiterated that all teams have the ability to beat India and they would play their best and wait for India to make mistakes, the record is stacked against them. India has beaten Bangladesh 16 times, and lost just once in T20Is.
Bangladesh have been remarkably upbeat despite early losses, even going down to Lanka in the group stage. But even then wicketkeeper-batsman Zaker Ali, had 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 has stuck to his LinkedIn ethos that says: “I am a confident, hard-working, committed individual who is determined to succeed in everything that I do. My objective is always to be the best person possible and pass on this as much as possible to others in the Sports industry through mentoring, Coaching, and Encouraging. As an experienced coach still involved at a high level I aim to continue to lead, challenge, and develop as a person both in sport and in my professional career. To make a difference in someone’s life everyday.” His commitment is why the Bangla press pack adores him, and wants him to emote.
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Simmons also insisted that the toss would have no bearing on the result, maintaining that the Dubai pitch supported batting. “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,” he was quoted as saying by prabhasakshi.com
The postBangladesh coach Phil Simmons: ‘We didn’t come just to win against Sri Lanka; we came to be champions’ | Cricket News appeared first on Indian Express
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