Jaker, who scored 28 and 58 in Sylhet, believes the team's struggles stem from a lack of collective effort with the bat.

Jaker Ali, who made a hard fought 68 off 114 balls and was involved in a record 154-run stand with Towhid Hridoy, talked to a few journalists immediately after the India game where he remained optimistic about his team’s chances of reaching the knockout phase. Here are the excerpts:

Jaker was still jet-lagged, after returning to country from the West Indies, while he spoke to The Daily Star's Abdullah Al Mehdi during an exclusive interview.

Years of dedication and hard work has reaped the fruits of performance for Jaker Ali in the just-concluded West Indies tour where the wicketkeeper-batter impressed with the willow in all three formats, playing a key role in Bangladesh completing a 3-0 sweep over the hosts in the T20I series yesterday.

Benefiting from a huge reprieve when he thought he had been run out on 18, the attacking right-hander took heavy toll of an uninspired Caribbean team.

Bangladesh kept on breaking Afghanistan’s momentum in phases to eventually come out on top and level the three-match ODI series with a 68-run win in the second ODI at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Bangladesh started losing wickets very early on the third morning, but a resolute 138-run partnership between Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Jaker Ali helped them wipe out the deficit and add to the total.

Coaches and selectors believed that Jaker Ali’s call up for the India Tests was very well-deserved, saying his dedication and adaptability in crisis situation could be an asset for the team in the tough tour.

The dropped catch from Jaker made the equation a little harder for the Tigers in the second T20I but more importantly, it added another worry for the team’s think tank heading into the T20 World Cup

For Jaker, this year was a special Eid. The hardworking middle-order batter talked about his time away from cricket during past Eids and his inspirations in an exclusive interview with The Daily Star’s Abdullah Al Mehdi.

Bangladesh opener Liton Das was omitted from the 15-member squad for the third ODI against Sri Lanka, scheduled to take place in Chattogram tomorrow. The move comes on the heels of his persisting struggle with form, notably marked by consecutive dismissals for ducks in the ongoing home ODI series against the visitors.