Bangladesh to begin new chapter
The Tigers’ were scheduled to leave for a full fledged tour of the Caribbean last night to begin a new chapter under head coach Steve Rhodes and captain Shakib Al Hasan, who will undertake his first assignment as Test skipper since being reappointed in the position for the longest format of the game last year.
For the tour the selectors made six changes to the squad that took on Sri Lanka in a series earlier this year, with pacer Mustafizur Rahman missing the cut due to a toe injury.
Rhodes has already made clear his intentions to focus on the longest format of the game but it will be challenging for Bangladesh’s batters to cope with the seaming friendly conditions in the Caribbean and that will certainly be the Tigers’ biggest concern.
West Indies pacer Shanon Gabriel has been in terrific form as the right arm seamer bagged 13 wickets last week in their second Test against Sri Lanka, where his sheer pace and well directed bouncers single handedly helped his side draw the match.
When reminded of the probable threat that Caribbean conditions impose, Tigers’ Test specialist Mominul Haque expressed his unwillingness to worry about the bouncy tracks and informed that if his teammates are able to adapt early, then there will not be much to worry about.
“It’s not like we haven’t played on bouncy tracks in our life so you [reporters] don’t need to think about it much and we should also not be worried about it. If you [reporters] are thinking about it too much then it will also play in our mind. After all we all are human and if one thing is continuously discussed then it will also play in our mind.
“We have played in bouncy tracks before and we have to quickly adapt after reaching there. And if we are able to adapt, then there won’t be many problems,” Mominul told reporters after their final training session before leaving for West Indies at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
According to the 26-year-old, Bangladesh will play better cricket in both the Test and ODI formats but he is not as certain about the shortest format of the game.
All-rounder Mehedi Hasan Miraz is expected to receive the required visa by Sunday and then join the team in Antigua while Shakib, who is on vacation with his family in America, will board a flight to the Island nation from New York with the team.
Bangladesh Cricket Board [BCB] cricket operations manager Sabbir Khan is expected to take over as team manager since Khaled Mahmud will not be a part of this series. Unfortunately though, Sabbir is yet to receive a visa and so the BCB’s media manager Rabeed Imam will act as manager until Sabbir is able to join the side.
Bangladesh will take part in a two day warm up game on June 27 in Antigua before they play the first of a two-match Test series against the hosts on July 4 at the same venue. The visitors will then face West Indies in the second Test on July 12 in Jamaica.
Source: The Daily Star.
