UNDER siege Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful has admitted the pressure of leading the hopes of a cricket-mad nation can get "out of control", but that hasn't stopped him from declaring he can transform them into one of the world's top five teams.
Ashraful failed to deliver on heavy expectation as Bangladesh slumped to a 3-0 series loss in Darwin this week, with coach Jamie Siddons stating the only reason he is still in the side is because he is captain.
"I am the biggest critic of my inconsistency, I know I have let many people down including myself for that," Ashraful told the Herald.
"My natural instinct is to dominate bowlers and get on top of them. I play better when I start dominating from the start. Maybe I take a few more risks because of that early on in my innings.
"I am trying to play the way I could be more successful in the long run. I am working really hard on that with Siddons who I think is an excellent batting tactician. I believe the results will come soon."
He is only 24, but 150 million of his countrymen make no secret they expect him to deliver on the potential he has shown in the past; a Test century on debut aged 17 and a one-day ton to orchestrate Bangladesh's most famous win, over Australia in 2005.
Ashraful's pitiful total of 11 runs from the three games has only intensified calls for his sacking from the Bangladesh public, who have grown tired of the team's horrendous failures against top teams.
"It is a tough challenge, people expect a lot from you and they demand success. Public expectation from teams of the subcontinent is very different from elsewhere in the world and everyday you are under scrutiny from the media and the masses," Ashraful said.
"Sometimes it threatens to go out of control but that's where you have to stay even calmer."
Asked how he envisioned the next decade, he replied: "I see myself playing cricket at the highest level and performing with the bat in both forms of the game. I want to win more matches for Bangladesh and hope to see the team ranked among the top five nations in world cricket."
Ashraful is adamant he is the right man to skipper the side, despite having made just four half-centuries in his last 50 one-dayers.
"The job of the Bangladesh captain is even more difficult because you are leading a side of talented youngsters who are still improving," he said. "But I have always wanted to captain the side and I enjoy the package that comes with it.
"I put myself in a fan or a journalist's shoe and realise that the reaction is only fair. When I was growing up and used to watch the Bangladesh team play we would often criticise the captain, the players for cricketing and non-cricketing things.
"My philosophy is that the public pay to watch us and it is only natural that they expect us to perform and be successful. The captain is often at the receiving end when things aren't going right but I have learnt to take it in my stride."
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