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Hamza Choudhury promised to strengthen the Bangladesh national team as much as possible as well as to play for them for several years in his first official press conference on Wednesday.

The Bangladesh national football team, boosted by the presence of Premier League outfit Leicester City midfielder Hamza, who is currently on loan to Championship side Sheffield United, is set to leave for India today to take part in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers against the hosts in Shillong on March 25.

The 27-year-old Hamza, who joined the team in Dhaka on Tuesday night after spending two days in his ancestral home in Habiganj, Sylhet, stated that he had no special expectations for himself and simply wanted to contribute to the team’s current progress.

‘We are a great nation. We can achieve whatever we’d like; we’ll just have to put in the hard work, and we need to respect the process of going to that level,’ said Hamza, flanked by captain Jamal Bhuiyan and head coach Javier Cabrera by his side, at a city hotel.

‘We’ve got no rush. We’ve got a lot of time, Inshallah. I’ll be playing for Bangladesh for a number of years,’ he continued.

When asked about his expected result against India, Hamza said, ‘Anything can happen in a football game. As the coach said, what I can add to the team. I am not feeling pressure right now… For me, I will just try to improve the team and help the team as much as I can.’

Hamza, a Leicester City academy product who represented England at the under-21 level, also said that he was hopeful and excited seeing the team’s tactical abilities and playing style.

‘I’m very hopeful, and I’m very excited. I and the coach have been in contract for a number of weeks. He showed me a number of video clips, and I’m very surprised at the team’s tactical abilities and the way they have been attacking teams,’ he said.

Coach Cabrera, who returned to Dhaka with the team from Saudi Arabia on Monday night after a two-week-long preparation camp, believes that a player of Hamza’s quality and experience will give his team much more confidence and a much better winning chance against India.

‘The mentality is to give our best to win… With Hamza, having a lot of experience of highest level of competition, we are much stronger right now. Definitely, our chances to win are much higher,’ said Cabrera.

‘We are focusing on what Hamza can give us right now. The good news is that Hanmza is with the team for the years. The first mission we have is definitely to win in India. And the best news is that Hamza is part of the national team.’

When asked who will be dropped as Hamza will play in the starting eleven against India, the Spaniard said there were still five or six training sessions to go before the match, so at this moment it would not be possible to say regarding the final squad.

Bangladesh had their final training session at the Kings Arena on Wednesday night before leaving for India.

About the exclusion of Italian-based midfielder Fahamedul Islam from the final squad, Cabrera said: ‘Fahmidul’s situation is different. I know him very well. I was the one who called him. He is a talented player.’

‘Fahmidul has the qualifications to represent the national team. However, I think he needs more time to get used to the national team jersey. There is no possibility of him returning to the team (for India match). He is in Italy now.’

The 34-year-old Jamal, who had made his Bangladesh debut 12 years ago coming from Denmark as the first Bangladeshi-origin overseas player, believes Hamza will get goosebumps when he listens to the national anthem being played prior to his debut against India.

‘The welcome you are giving to Hamza is tremendous. It will give inspiration to others around the world… I think, on March 25, when he listens to the national anthem, Hamza is going to get goosebumps,’ Jamal replied to a query.

Jamal also said that Hamza’s arrival feels like Bangladesh’s own Lionel Messi is coming.

‘Of course, it was kind of the same environment when I came and now Hamza is a Premier League player, coming to the team as it is, it’s like our Messi is coming, So, that’s how I feel about it and how he fits into the team, I think he fits perfectly.’