We are human beings, we also make mistakes: Mahmudullah

Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah hit back at online critics after securing their qualification to the Super 12s stage on Friday with a 84-run victory over Papua New Guinea. The Tigers lost to Scotland by six runs in their opening match which put their progression in doubt. However, they bounced back with 26-run win over Oman in their second match.

Mahmudullah was emotional during the post-match press conference as he addressed the vitriolic abuse his team received over the past few days.

"Everyone has social media on their phone. We expect criticism when it is warranted, but if that is belittling, we feel bad," Mahmudullah said. 

"There were many questions, including about the three senior players' strike rate. We tried hard, but we didn't get the result. Everyone makes sacrifices. We play with injuries. Some of us take painkillers every day. Many don't know about these things, so it is not right to talk about our commitment. I hope we can be more settled now. Within the team, there is positive energy, and for that, I thank the whole team. I hope things will get better."

"We are human beings and we also make mistakes. When we play, the whole country plays together. We keep it in our minds. I don't think anyone has more feelings for it than us. We played bad and we knew that we would receive criticism. We all were hurt by it," he added.

Mahmudullah was full of praise for Bangladesh's batters who posted their highest T20 World Cup score of 181 against PNG.

"That was the way we wanted to play and there was intent from the batters. If you compare to the last two games, I think we did much better so I think the batters did a very good job to get a 180-plus score," he said.

The 35-year old felt that the team still needs to focus on getting good starts and sustaining the momentum till the end of the innings.

"The two things we are concerned about are the first six overs with the bat and ball. If we can get a good start, we can capitalise on it and that is how we have been building up wins. We need to focus on those areas again and try to compete hard," he said.

Bangladesh will begin the Super 12s stage with a clash against the second qualifier from Group A on Sunday followed by matches against England, West Indies, South Africa and Australia.