Online Desk: Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha was in no mood to be drawn into controversies ahead of the team’s opening match against Afghanistan on Saturday, especially after the build-up to the mega event had been dogged with controversies more than on-field performances.

The Shakib-Tamim saga took all the limelight in Bangladesh’s build-up to the World Cup. The coach’s comments regarding Bangladesh’s chances and expectations in the World Cup also raised a few question marks after he had said that ‘those who were dreaming of seeing Bangladesh win the World Cup should wake up’. In the pre-match press conference on Friday, the Sri Lankan cleared the air regarding that interview, saying: “My job is to take the pressure off the players.”

Talking about the team’s expectations in the tournament, Hathurusingha reiterated, like in that interview, that semifinals would be their first realistic target. “We all want to win the World Cup but as you rightly asked me realistically is that if we win 4-5 games, we give ourselves a chance to get into the semifinal of the knockout stage — that’s our first aim,” Hathurusingha said. I think we have a good enough team to do that – our first aim is to getting to the semifinal stage.”

When asked specifically whether people can dream about this team, Hathurusingha asserted that winning matches and targeting the semifinals was their main aim. “People can dream, people can aim, people can have goals. Whatever the word you use, it is the same thing,” the Sri Lankan said. “We’re trying to have a good World Cup and win matches. That’s the main aim for me. As I just said to him, our aim is to get into the semifinal, that can be a dream or can be an aim – doesn’t matter.”

The high-point of the controversies ahead of the World Cup was Tamim Iqbal’s exclusion from the squad and skipper Shakib Al Hasan calling Tamim ‘childish and not a team member’ in a notorious TV interview just a few days ago. When asked whether the Hathurusingha has spoken to Shakib about the issue, the coach said: “I had a conversation about his batting, bowling, and captaincy.”