Mohammad Ashraful insists he is ready to return to the Bangladesh fold for the Test series with England.
Former captain hoping to play part in Test series
Mohammad Ashraful insists he is ready to return to the Bangladesh fold for the Test series with England and is feels there is now less of a burden on him to carry the Tigers' batting.
Ashraful has long been regarded his country's most talented batsman, but has often wilted under the pressure of expectation since scoring a century on his Test debut at the age of 17.
Indeed, the 26-year-old asked to be left out of the recent one-day series with England after struggling for form.
However, he is looking to play his part in the Test series and is buoyed by the fact that his country now have a number of capable batsmen to call upon.
"In the past there has been a lot of pressure (on me) but now we have a lot of match-winners in the side," he stated.
"Now I am just one of the players who has to perform; before it was big pressure.
"When we beat the big teams in the past, I sometimes played brilliant cricket, but now we have four or five match-winners, everybody wants to perform, so I need to step up again."
Indeed, Ashraful is keen to learn from his past failures and believes his best years are still ahead of him.
"I have experience of Test cricket so, if I feel good and I bat well, they will select me," he continued.
"This is definitely a new start. I'm 26 so, if I'm fit enough, I can play another 10 years or more.
"For the last nine years I have been up and down so now I need to perform regularly. My best time is still left I think."
