Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo has said that youngster Nazmul Hossain Shanto may bat at Number 3 above Shakib Al Hasan in the three-match ODI series at home against West Indies.
Shakib, who has been struggling to get runs in recent times after returning from a one-year ban, may drop down to Number 4 in the batting line-up to make way for in-form Shanto.
“Shanto is a good young player, he’s showing great form. The best place to develop a young player in the subcontinent is probably at the top of the innings,” Domingo said during a virtual press conference this afternoon.
The South African coach feels that batting at Number 4 may take some pressure off Shakib and help him regain prime form.
“Shakib had an unbelievable World Cup playing at Number 3. But he hasn’t played much international cricket so he might need some breathing space. So he’ll come back at Number 4,” Domingo said.
However, the coach hinted that these options are an experiment with the World Cup in mind.
“It’s still a long way to go till the World Cup; we need to pick various options before we settle on a batting line-up. We have eight months before the World Cup and we need to make sure we find out what’s going to be our best batting line up,” the coach concluded.
Bangladesh will play the first of the three ODIs against West Indies in Mirpur on Wednesday. The second match will be held at the same venue on Friday before the third and final match in Chattogram on Monday.
