Us vs them à la Mourinho?

Bangladesh's T20 World Cup campaign last year had gone off the rails after things were said in the media by members of the board and the players following a defeat to Scotland, which created tension inside the dressing room. Ahead of their first Super 12 match against the Netherlands, it appears a curtain has been drawn around the Bangladesh squad as skipper Shakib Al Hasan was in no mood to divulge much on their plans a day ahead of the game.

Media reports have recently suggested that even members of the team management were not keen on talking to the media. Whether it is escapism from past hassles, leading to media backlash, is not certain but Shakib clearly had a plan of action for his side on how to go about their business.

There have been rumours, media briefs and news that become sensational, and in the past such things have boiled over and created issues that could have been avoided. This in part could have been why a certain distance with the media has now come to pass, the other more reasonable facet is to galvanise the side.

Portuguese football coach Jose Mourinho believed in a 'us against them' policy for a major portion of his coaching career. He would rile up oppositions on and off the pitch and would rile his players on to feel a certain rivalry with everyone concerned in order to make them push past their limits. During his days at Real Madrid, he could create divisions within the club to tick his own boxes. This tendency often saw him provoke the kind of aggression that he needed from his troops on the pitch.

While this is merely conjecture, Shakib might have come to the press conference hoping to soak up all the attention while in the meantime galvanising his players to a mentality of the world being against them.

Bangladesh's recent record already establishes the fact that improvements are needed in all departments to get any kind of result at this World Cup. To a particularly pointed question from an English-speaking contingent of journalists attending the event on whether the first three games against the Netherlands, South Africa and Zimbabwe are 'simpler' than the last two against Pakistan and India, Shakib's reply was sharp.

"We never thought like that, every match is equally important to us. There are two points to grab and we will look to win every game we play. No easy or big team at this World Cup. As you saw in the qualifiers, teams that maybe you guys thought will win, didn't win. Maybe it's a perception you are putting in us but we never prepared our team like that," Shakib said yesterday and his response to the same question from the local media had been similar.

He was also asked if the media was 'overreaching' regarding the tension between players and the media. "You can judge that and let the people judge that. I don't like judging and my focus is on the team and hopefully the players' focus is on the match tomorrow," he laid it on.

Mourinho's principle had drawbacks too in the long-term. Shakib meanwhile, appears busy being a battering ram for the team.

Tigers meet Dutch

"You (media) may have created the impression that Bangladesh is relieved to have the Netherlands coming. We never think like that." - Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan

"You guys suggested it will be an upset [if Netherlands win], but we don't see it that way. I don't see any reason that we can't knock them (Bangladesh) off." - Netherlands skipper Tom Cooper

Bangladesh versus Netherlands highlights:

Bangladesh eye to register their first main-stage victory since their win against the West Indies in the T20 World Cup's inaugural edition in 2007.

Netherlands, on the other hand, have had a few extraordinary performances in T20 World Cups, including two famous victories against England in 2009 and 2014.

When it comes to playing the Dutch side, the Tigers face a rather unfamiliar foe as the two have faced each other just thrice before, with the latest encounter coming in the 2016 T20 World Cup, where Bangladesh triumphed by eight wickets.

However, in the only bilateral T20I series between the two sides in 2012, the two-match series ended 1-1.

Head-to-head record: Bangladesh 2 Netherlands 1

STATISTICS:

Bangladesh

T20 World Cup Appearances: 7

Best Result: Super 8s (2007)

T20 WORLD CUP RECORD

Matches: 33

Won: 7

Lost: 25

Tied: 0

No Result: 1

Netherlands

T20 World Cup Appearances: 4

Best Result: Super 10s (2014)

T20 WORLD CUP RECORD

Matches: 18

Won: 7

Lost: 10

Tied: 0

No Result: 1