Sports Desk:

Bangladesh forward Rakib Hossain admitted that matching the standards of Hamza Chowdhury would be challenging but believes it wouldn’t be too hard for the team to gel with the Sheffield United midfielder.

The charges of Spanish coach Javier Cabrera completed their third training session on Monday at the Bashundhara Kings Arena as part of preparation for the Asian Cup Qualifiers against hosts India on March 25. The men in red and green are expected to fly out to India on March 19, a day after Hamza Chowdhury is expected to join the team in Dhaka.

“It will be challenging to match their high standards. I watched Hamza performing several times in the English Premier League.  He is a top-class player. Like him, Fahamedul is also a good player. However, I don’t think it will be a problem for us to gel with them,” Rakib told reporters before training.

“As India are much stronger at home, we have been practising with that in mind and the coach is also designing the training according to that. The coach also tells us to be serious and intense in every session whether it is training on the pitch or gym sessions. If we can toil hard and play according to the coach’s tactics, we can expect something good against India,” he added.

Goalkeeper Mitul Marma, on the other hand, wanted to focus on his side rather than the opposition. “We are not thinking of India, rather we want to keep belief in ourselves. We are working according to the coach’s plan. If we can give our hundred percent in line with the coach’s plan, we can produce good results against any opponents.”

“Football is a team game, rather than an individual one. If we can play as a team, then we can help each other on the ground,” Mitul said. “The positive thing about Hamza bhai’s inclusion is that we will get a boost because he is a top-class player and we can learn a lot of things from him,”

Bangladesh will leave for Saudi Arabia on March 5 for a two-week preparation camp where they will play a couple of practice matches, subject to the availability of teams in Saudi Arabia before coming back to the country on March 17.