Bangladesh's astounding win against India in the ODI series has ensured that they qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, which will be held in England.
Bangladesh had to win any two ODIs from India's tour and South Africa's tour. They did not have to wait for long, as they achieved the feat during the India tour itself.
They have created a chance of kncoking out either Pakistan or West Indies from the Champions Trophy.
"Everyone was saying before the India series that we should at least win one match. That if we get two wins from the India and South Africa we can qualify for the Champions Trophy, which would be enough.
"We ended up winning the series by winning the first two matches. But after the loss in the third match, there was more talk about how we couldn't do the Banglawash than winning the series," Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza said in an interview to bdnews24.
Recently, they also moved up to the 7th spot in the ICC ODI rankings after beating India. And all this has happened because of one man who led his country to reach new heights in international cricket - Mashrafe Mortaza.
After the ICC World Cup 2015, Mortaza had hinted that he might retire after the ICC World Twenty20 2016, which is supposed to take place in India. But now he has changed his mind and wants to play until the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.
"Even if it was not too seriously, I did have thoughts about the end of my career. I thought I wouldn't play for a very long time but now that we have achieved it [qualification for the Champions Trophy], why not work a little harder? Champions Trophy is second only to the World Cup.
"It would be good to play the tournament. It is hard to say anything concrete now but I feel a bit of pull towards playing in the Champions Trophy. I want to work harder, keep myself fit so that I can play till then," Mortaza added.
The Bangladesh captain is hopeful that this is just the beginning of a new era. His side has to play good all-round cricket in the upcoming series against South Africa and consistency will be the key. If they manage to keep on riding the winning momentum, they can reach new heights in future.
"Listening to some people, it seems like we have won the world. The reality is, we are ranked at No 7 in the ODI table," he said.
"India are still the No 2 side after losing to us, because they have been winning for a long time. If we can win for a longer period, we can reach that place," Mortaza said.
