Agencies
Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo said that he was ‘surprised’ New Zealand haven’t picked their key players for the T20I series against Bangladesh.
None of the members named in the squad for the India tour and the ICC T20 World Cup will be a part of the Bangladesh tour. On his part, Domingo pointed out that the conditions in Bangladesh would have acted as a good preparation for the T20 World Cup.
“New Zealand got some really good players. Obviously, some players are going to the IPL and it’s the middle of the winter now,” Domingo told the reporters during a function organized by BCB’s cricket operations to celebrate the series win against Australia. “I am surprised by the side they are sending... because they are sending none of the players who will be playing in the World Cup... these are good conditions to prepare for the World Cup,” he said. Meanwhile, Bangladesh have been in good form in the shortest format, evidenced by their 4-1 T20I series win against Australia at home. The defining series win also turned out to be their maiden bilateral series victory against Australia across formats.
“We are a good T20 side and I really believe we got some really good players there. I’m hoping this performance can give the public and the media a bit of confidence in the team so they can portray the team in a good light. We still have a lot of work to do but there is a really good sign of a good T20 side. I suppose our bowlers are really good and we know these conditions well.
“We have played a bit of T20 cricket coming from Zimbabwe and got a bit of confidence there because of some good performances. And obviously, Bangladesh have a good record in Bangladesh. We still have another five games to go. The biggest thing you can take out of these series is players can get the confidence that they can beat anybody on the day, which is a big thing. Confidence in cricket is very important. We still know we need to improve. But look, if you can win against quality sides in tough conditions, it shows the team is doing something right,” he said.
Domingo also backed Soumya Sarkar to make an impact against New Zealand. The talented batsman accumulated a mere 28 runs during the course of the series against Australia. Domingo, though, pointed out that Soumya had to face pacemen of the calibre of Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc at the top of the order.
“Australia got a very good bowling attack... Hazlewood and Starc are two of the best bowlers in the world and pitches were difficult to bat on. I think we need to cut some of the guys a little bit of slack, and try not to be so critical about them because they're trying their best and that's the nature of batting as you will not always get runs. I know only after two games, people were criticizing Soumya. But two games before he was the man of the series. It's impossible to score runs every single day. I hope we can support the players a bit more and I don’t want to drop everybody for not getting runs in one or two games. This is my perspective of what I see.”
As per the itinerary released by the BCB, the visitors will arrive in Dhaka on August 24. Both sides will start their three-day mandatory room quarantine in the team hotel on the same day. New Zealand will subsequently play a warm-up game on August 29 at the BKSP.
The five-match T20I rubber will be held on September 1, 3, 5, 8 and 10 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
