Grant Bradburn contends Scotland are capable of creating shockwaves at the forthcoming ICC World Twenty20 - despite their unenviable record in global tournaments.
In three previous forays in the 50-over World Cup and two in its Twenty20 counterpart, the Saltires have exited at the first hurdle on each occasion with a combined 17 defeats in 18 matches, and one no-result, which does not augur well for their assignment in India.
There were signs of progress at the 2015 World Cup, where they gave New Zealand and Bangladesh a scare, while a gilt-edged opportunity to defeat Afghanistan went begging.
But Scotland have largely stood by the same squad as last year, with Preston Mommsen once again leading a team that includes experienced Northamptonshire batsman Kyle Coetzer and Sussex's Matt Machan. Highly-rated young bowlers Gavin Main and Mark Watt are among the new inclusions.
All 15 members of the squad have been capped at international level, though, and Scotland head coach Bradburn believes breaking their duck at a global event could propel them to new heights.
He told Press Association Sport: "We would love to take down some major nations in this T20 contest.
"I think we've proved we've got a very, very good white ball team. We all feel that our skills are improving and we just need to get those confidence booster wins under our belt just to really get amongst the best sides in the world.
"I think for the players themselves it would be just reward for where they feel, and we feel as coaches, that they're approaching."
Scotland have the opportunity to gain a measure of revenge over Afghanistan on the world stage after they were paired together in the preliminary round.
While Bradburn says he and his players have moved on, last year's high-profile defeat in Dunedin still rankles, with Afghanistan reaching their victory target of 211 with one wicket and three balls to spare, despite being reduced to 97 for seven and 132 for eight.
Asked if vengeance was on Scotland's mind in their opener on March 8 in Nagpur, Bradburn said: "I think there's definitely that feeling in the camp.
"The whole World Cup experience was so valuable for us, we were absolutely gutted not to come back with at least one win in that tournament. But it wasn't to be.
"What it did show us is where the line of international cricket is. At times we were able to touch that line but we weren't able to cross it and, from a coaching staff's point of view, it was one of the most valuable experiences for all of us."
Scotland will also face Hong Kong and Zimbabwe, and with only one team progressing from Group B, Bradburn, a former off-spinner and lower-order batsman who played seven Tests and 11 ODIs for New Zealand, knows his side need to hit the ground running.
"They're all big threats. We have a simple task: to go and win three games and that's what we're preparing for," he said.
"We know that we can beat Afghanistan, we know that we can beat Hong Kong but we hugely respect them. Zimbabwe, we don't know much about but we're certainly doing our homework on them.
"They are tough associate nations and they're very, very good T20 sides. We know we're going to have to be at our best and not expect the game to fall into our laps."
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