Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo is banking on his "house of young fast bowlers" to prepare for the next 50-over World Cup, hinting at limited or no role for Mashrafe Mortaza in the bigger scheme of things going forward. Domingo further told Cricbuzz that he's expecting Mortaza to make the final call about his playing career, reports Cricbuzz.
Mortaza stepped down from captaincy in February during Bangladesh's last home series against Zimbabwe but did not disclose retirement plans despite being asked on several occasions.
"Regarding Mashrafe in the 50 over World Cup, look that's a long way away. Mashrafe has got to decide whether he's available for selection then it's up to the selectors to decide whether they are going to pick him," Domingo told Cricbuzz. "I see a house of young fast bowlers and I think I would like to get them into the system. So those decisions we will need to make once we reassemble."
Mortaza was a constant figure in the ODIs during the last five years -- missing only five games in that period, two of them to over-rate suspensions -- but fingers were pointed at his position in the side after the last World Cup, where he managed to grab only one wicket.
Domingo also expressed disappointment at not being able to carry on the momentum from the Zimbabwe series but acknowledged that the hectic playing calendar means the players can do with this time away from cricket.
"We would be disappointed if we didn't beat Zimbabwe. I thought we played really good cricket in most of the games. So, I'm very pleased with the way the players maintained their standard in discipline. Obviously Zimbabwe were missing one or two players but I thought our guys executed their skill really well.
"It would have been great to play another series straight off the Zimbabwe series, we thought to make some headway in white-ball cricket, we also played a really solid Test match. So obviously we are disappointed that we weren't able to continue the momentum. But it is also a good break for the players after a long season."
Domingo further said that international cricket might well have to start without spectators but getting there has to be gradual and planned.
"There's definitely a camp needed when we get together," Domingo said. "We can't go straight back into cricket because we got to make sure the players are fully prepared physically and mentally. So, I don't think it's a matter of getting together and five days later playing internationals, it's got to be at least three-four weeks before we start to play again.
To make sure the skills are where they need to be before we start playing international cricket as I'm sure there's going to be a whole house of internationals back to back once cricket does start again. So making sure players are physically fit, because players easily pick up injuries if there're not enough gap between games.
''Also, we need to make sure that we don't just have a squad of 13 or 14 but there's really big squad of nearly 20 players that we can pick from at any time because injuries are definitely coming after whole lot of practices and after a whole lot of games in and out,'' he said.
Domingo is still hopeful that the Sri Lanka series will be played as per schedule and added that he is waiting for a final call on the ICC T20 World Cup that's scheduled in Australia later this year. Domingo reckoned that rescheduling the tournament won't hurt Bangladesh as much because they will have Shakib al Hasan back, who is expected to be available after completing his one-year ICC ban on October 30.
"Yeah, really looking forward to going to Sri Lanka. It's a great place to tour, great facilities, tough cricket, will be a good challenge for our team against a top Sri Lankan side," said Domingo. "Obviously the T20 World Cup that's something we have spoken about over the last six-seven months. Something we really hope takes place.
We will have to wait for a week or two until they make a decision but if it can't happen, we just got to reset our goals and reset our plans and work towards when the tournament does take place again. If the T20 World Cup is rescheduled to next year, obviously Shakib will be back and that will be a big boost for us.