Ahead of the forthcoming home Test series against New Zealand, head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe has stated that Bangladesh must “move on” from the older players and described the current era of transition as “exciting” for the sport of cricket in the nation.
The speed attack leader Taskin Ahmed, regular captain Shakib Al Hasan, and his deputy Litton Das are all out of the series. Taskin is taking care of a shoulder ache, Shakib is healing from a finger injury, and Litton is on a paternity leave granted by the BCB.
“It’s challenging to lose that much of experience from any team, especially for Bangladesh,” Hathurusinghe stated. “Those men have spent more than 15 years playing for Bangladesh in every format. A few of them for a decade. Nonetheless, it’s exciting to see what the kids can do.
“I believe that some of the players who have played for a long time ought to be let go at this point. They won’t be there indefinitely. But there are numerous reasons why this is taking place. I find it intriguing, and it gives some of the younger generation a chance to establish themselves and have successful careers.”
Hathurusinghe stated that his work would “start after the World Cup” at a time when Bangladesh was having a difficult time in the tournament, having lost six of their seven matches. He also stated that he couldn’t do much before the competition because he had only been appointed seven months earlier. He described the era as “a changing guard for Bangladesh cricket” and stated that his goal was building a team with young players two weeks after their World Cup exit.
Hathurusinghe remarked, “I think every team takes pride in winning at home.” “There is no difference between us. Our goal is to win games under our own circumstances. We’ll make an effort to compete while traveling. That’s the strategy. We have a clear understanding of our weaknesses and assets. Thus, we won’t be making any major predictions. We are currently assembling a team. All it is is a sort of guard change for Bangladeshi cricket.
“The fact that there are talented young players is intriguing. The problem is that these guys haven’t had enough opportunity to play cricket. Therefore, going forward, we need to prepare a little bit better and have a larger pool of players available for every bowling and batting position. Our team is improved by players who challenge other team members.”
A primary worry ahead of Tuesday’s first Test in Sylhet is that the majority of Bangladeshi players haven’t participated in red-ball cricket since June. After the World Cup in mid-November, the Bangladeshi players returned from India and participated in the final NCL first-class match. In this short amount of time, Hathurusinghe thought that was the best they could do to adapt to the extended format.
“We used the NCL matches for the guys who played the World Cup as preparation,” he stated. “Most of the batters took advantage of the chance. The majority of the other participants are NCL players. For many ways, this almost feels like a new Bangladeshi team. Not on purpose. We are as prepared as we can be, in my opinion, and I am excited about this test series.”
Bangladesh is expected to rely on the extensive expertise of Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, their spin bowling combo, who rank second and third in terms of total Test wicket-taker rankings, respectively. Two hundred and twenty-eight of their total 328 Test wickets have come from home. Taijul has also been Bangladesh’s most productive bowler at home during the past ten years. Additionally, the two have outperformed the remainder of Bangladesh’s bowling attack.
“Experience exists in Miraz and Taijul. Taijul’s Test wicket total is 177. If my memory serves me well, Miraz has been playing since 2016, thus he will undoubtedly be the attack’s leader “Hathurusinghe remarked. “Next are Naeem Hassan and young Hassan Murad. Those guys, namely the spinners, will be crucial given the conditions and the heat.”
Only one Test has been held in Sylhet thus far, with Zimbabwe defeating Bangladesh by 151 runs in 2018. Hathurusinghe stated that Bangladesh was likewise uncertain about the pitch’s behavior.
The number of Test matches we’ve played at Sylhet has decreased. One, if my memory serves me correctly. For us, then, it’s also novel. There is no history here, therefore we have no idea how the wicket will behave. All we shall do is judge by what is in front of us. Right now, it is unknown.”
