Naveed Nawaz, Sri Lanka’s incumbent assistant coach, feels that a positive result in Bangladesh will bring smiles back on the faces of the fans back home as the country struggles with political and economic turmoil. He stressed the team’s preparation for the two Tests hasn't been hampered because of the ongoing struggles.
“So far I don’t think it has affected us,” Nawaz said. “Most of the cricketers are continuing to do their hard work. Their training has been ongoing for a couple of months. You can't see many positives [in Sri Lanka] at the moment. It will be very good for us to take some positives back home. We want to keep inspiring the young generation of the country.”
Nawaz admitted that their bowling unit is a bit inexperienced but he is confident that they can give the home team a run for their money.
“We have a bit of inexperience in our bowling group. The batting is far superior, for both units. They are pretty similar too. Bangladesh has a bit of youth in their bowling group. The two teams are evenly poised, it will be a good series to watch,” he said. “It is going to be a tough series.”
“We are very optimistic and open-minded about whatever comes through. We will try to adapt as much as possible to conditions and pitches in Chittagong [Chattogram]. It has always produced a lot of runs, so we expect something similar.”
Nawaz, who joined the Sri Lanka team recently after leaving his job in Bangladesh, played a big part in grooming Under-19 World Cup winners Mahmudul Hasan and Shoriful Islam. “They are skilled enough to handle any situation. Me being there [in the opposition dressing room] shouldn’t mean anything to them because they have played and succeeded in international cricket,” Nawaz pointed out. “I think that [my presence] would be a positive more than a negative for them. In the future, they will go to many countries to adapt and adjust to playing at the highest level.
“I think those boys are really good players. One day, they will be legends of Bangladesh cricket. They are so good. I haven’t seen them for a long time so they will of course be happy to see me around, he said adding that it was nice to be back in Bangladesh considering he spent a lot of time here during the last four years.
“It is good to be back in my country. I enjoyed four years [with the U-19 team]. It was really good. I think I was able to give something to Bangladesh, to do justice to the four years.”