'Bangladesh have played some good cricket, but also been vulnerable'

Phil Simmons, the Bangladesh head coach, said that his team is hoping to play like they did in Sri Lanka as they prepare to take on Netherlands in the three-match T20Is.

Bangladesh clinched the three-match T20I series in Sri Lanka after losing the opening game. He is hoping that the team would be able to carry forward that momentum.

"I'm for us to continue the levels that we've set in Sri Lanka," Simmons said on Friday. "Take away a little bit from Mirpur, I don't think the wicket was as good as Sri Lanka. But the standards we set in Sri Lanka, that's what we're looking to continue."

Simmons said that he is not taking anything for granted against Netherlands. Even as he is aware Bangladesh is playing against a lower ranked side, he isn't taking the pressure of failing against the tourists.

"If we lose against Australia, we get criticised. So, losing against a team that is lower down on the table is not a bad thing, because if we don't play well on the day, we deserve to be criticised. If we play well and they beat us, they deserve it. So, we don't think about losing to anybody. We think about how we play and the standards we want to set. And I'm sure if we play to that level, we will win," he said.

"We are playing three T20 internationals. And once you say internationals, it's an international team. They've played in the last two World Cups. They've done well when they've played in the World Cup. So, I don't think, I can't see us underrating anybody. In world cricket now, you don't underrate people.

"Everybody has a chance to win. Everybody's playing good cricket now. So, we've got to play to a standard that we want to continue playing at," he said.

Simmons brushed aside the upcoming series being used as a preparation for Asia Cup.

"You have to run the preliminaries before you get to the final. I'm not thinking about the Asia Cup. The Asia Cup comes after this. This is an international series against an international team," said Simmons. "That's where our focus is, on the series.

"I don't know what you consider an ideal situation. For me, anytime you play international cricket, it's an ideal situation because you have to maintain a certain standard.

"If we play against teams higher up, we still have to play at a certain level for us to win the series. So, for us, it's about maintaining and improving what we've done in Sri Lanka. And I don't see it as who is in front of us. It's more about how we play and how we continue to improve."

Meanwhile, Netherlands head coach Ryan Cook, who has worked with the Bangladesh team earlier, said that he is happy to be back in the country but warned the host not to take them lightly.

"Bangladesh have played some good cricket recently, but also have shown that they are vulnerable in other series as well. So now we've come here confident that we can play a good game of cricket, and we know Bangladesh are going to come with a good style of cricket. They have some very good players, and in their home conditions, they are tough to play against.

"So it's going to be a great challenge for our guys. But we wouldn't be here if we didn't think we could win some games. And if we are drawn in the same groups again, we'd want to try and beat them again. So I think from that perspective, we've gotta just take it for what it is in front of us, and we're confident that we can use it," he concluded.