Courtney Walsh sees the Sri Lanka T20I Tri-series very challenging for him as he has been endowed the responsibility of the interim head coach of the Tigers.

Walsh, however, was excited having this new role.

“I am very excited that the board had the confidence to bestow this position on me. It is every coach’s dream. I know it is an interim job. I am going to try my best in terms of our execution and game plan. I am looking forward to the challenge,” Walsh told the journalists at Mirpur on Saturday afternoon.

The tigers will leave Dhaka on Sunday to give battle in the Nidahas Trophy.

The two other participatory teams are India and host Sri Lanka.

The Tiger coach admitted that Bangladesh is the underdog in this tournament, but also expressed hope that it’s not impossible to play in the final.

“I think we have a very good chance. Obviously we will be going as the underdogs, playing against two quality teams. I think if we play consistently enough, we have a good chance to make it to the finals. Once we are there, things will be taken one game at a time. We will be hoping that we can give a good account of ourselves and play good, consistent cricket,” he said.

Walsh said tigers would have to do something different in the absence of one of the best players of the team – Shakib Al Hasan.

The all-rounder is still out of the team for a finger injury he sustained in the last tri-series final against Sri Lanka.

“Everybody has to step up to the plate. Shakib is still getting treatment so we are not sure when he might be available. We have to plan at the moment without him being there. I don’t want to divulge too much of the plans. We are going to have to do things a bit differently in this absence. He is a hard player to replace overnight. He does everything – bat, bowl, field and captain. As soon as he is well enough to play, we will have to get him there,” Walsh said.

He hopes that his message to the players would be to enjoy their game and execute the plans.

“We want to play one game at a time. I will tell them to go out there and express themselves and enjoy the game. They have to execute the game plan as best as they can. It is no point going into a game with added pressure. We have to relax and enjoy what we are doing, with purpose. I want them to feel proud playing for Bangladesh,” said the head coach of Tigers.

“Sri Lanka is always a dangerous side. India played very good cricket in South Africa. They are up there in the rankings. We are up against two top sides. It will be a good test for us,” he added.