After a forgettable World Cup campaign, Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha said on Sunday that his team was looking to turn over a new leaf with the two-match Test series against New Zealand. Both Bangladesh and New Zealand will start their campaigns in the third cycle of the ICC Test Championship through the series that will see Tests played at Sylhet and Dhaka.
With regular captain Shakib Al Hasan and fast bowlers Ebadot Hossain and Taskin Ahmed missing through injuries and senior players Tamim Iqbal and Litton Das unavailable for personal reasons, the Nazmul Hossain-led side will have a lot of fresh faces.
"This is almost like a new-look Bangladesh team for various reasons, not by design. Sometimes it's injuries. So, I think we are ready as we can be and I'm looking forward to this Test series," Hathurusingha told reporters at the SICS, two days out from the game.
"It's challenging to lose that much of experience from any team, especially for Bangladesh because those guys have been, like, part of the Bangladesh team in every format for more than 15 years, some of them, and some of them 10 years, so that's why I said, for us, it's something to look forward to, what the youngsters can do.
"I think it's a time that we need to move on from some of the players that have played for a long time. They're not going to be there forever. But this is happening because of many reasons. So, I think it's exciting, and it's an opportunity for some of the youngsters to make their name and then have a long career," he added.
Hathurusingha talked up his side's spin strength and stated that uncapped left-arm spinner Hasan Murad shouldn't have to feel like he needs to do something special in the absence of a senior figure like Shakib and that he should continue to do what he did in the domestic circuit that earned him a place in the national set-up.
"He's been leading wicket taker for NCL for last two years. So he's done his things, he's earned his place in the squad. My message to him is be the same one, not to be X Factor or Y, it doesn't matter. What he has done in the NCL or the BCL, the selectors have seen that, that's why he's here. So our message for the boys is do the same thing what you've been doing, that's why you're here.
"There is experience in Taijul [Islam] and [Mehidy Hasan] Miraz. Taijul, I think over 200 Test wickets. Definitely he'll be a leader of the attack and Miraz, playing since 2016, if I remember. And then there's young Murad is there, and Naeem Hassan. I think playing in these conditions and this heat, those guys, spinners mainly, play a big role."
Meanwhile, Haturusingha said he was eager to see how Nazmul Hossain would go about his captaincy duties amidst the challenges of Test cricket, having briefly led the ODI side during Shakib's absence. He also brushed aside the impact of the historic win at Mount Maunganui when these two sides previously met in New Zealand stating that it will be a very different ball game at home.
"The new captain, it's an opportunity for him to create his own leadership group, his own way of leading. So he will be different. It's an opportunity for him as well as the other players also to get used to the way he leads. I'm really excited for all these changes," he said.