Bangladeshi cricket captain Sakib al Hasan (L) and Bangladesh’s cricket coach Steve Rhodes walk off the stadium after a practice session ahead of the first Twenty-20 match between Bangladesh and West Indies at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet on Sunday. — AFP photo
Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes dismissed fear about fresh injury of all-rounder Sakib al Hasan after he was hit by ball during Sunday’s training session on in Sylhet.
A delivery of all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin hit the Twenty20 skipper his toe, sending a shiver of cold in Bangladesh tent ahead of Monday’s opening match of three-match series.
‘He’s fine. He got a little knock on the foot from Saifuddin, who bowled an inswinging yorker to him…He is smiling and happy,’ said Rhodes.
‘He’s icing his foot at the moment. I’d be very surprised if he wakes up tomorrow [Monday] and there’s any issue to be perfectly honest,’ he said.
The opening match will start at 12:30pm at Sylhet International Stadium after the Bangladesh Cricket Board revised the timing of the game due to floodlight problem at the ground.
Rhodes refused accept Bangladesh as favourites for the series despite their recent success against West Indies in all three formats.
Bangladesh defeated the West Indies 2-1 in their previous T20 series in the Caribbean and United States in August.
The Tigers have maintained their success against the Caribbean side at home, sweeping the Tests 2-0 before winning the three-match ODI series 2-1.
‘We played well in the one-dayers and we should take a lot of confidence from that. We played well in the Test series, and that was fantastic. We couldn’t ask for more,’ Rhodes told reporters in Sylhet.
‘But we are asking for more. We want the players to beat the West Indies in Twenty20. They’re ranked above us. They are world champions.
‘We surprised them in Florida (USA) and surprised ourselves as well. But the plan is to go out there and win the series.
‘We desperately want to do it and it’s going to be a lot tougher than the other two series because this is the format West Indies excel at.
‘We will give it our best shot and hopefully we will be smiling at the end of it. Whatever happens we are pleased with the way our progress is going at the moment,’ Rhodes.
West Indies’ Twenty20 captain Carlos Brathwaite said the series is a perfect opportunity to give their fans something celebrate before Christmas after defeats in Tests and ODIs
‘The people back home deserve a Christmas gift. We hope to close out the year with a win,’ he said. ‘We still think T20 is our premier format. We obviously haven’t had the results to be in the recent past proud of. But here’s a chance to turn things around and ending 2018 in a good way.’
West Indies will wrap up the tour in Bangladesh with back-to-back Twenty20 Internationals in Dhaka on December 20 and 22.
Source: New Age.
