Hathurusinghe warns against destroying Taskin's career
Chandika Hathurusinghe, Bangladesh's coach, was extremely critical of Taskin Ahmed being picked for the BCB XI to play in the second two-day practice match against England. Chief selector Minhajul Abedin had a keen eye on having Taskin play Test cricket, but the coach said he didn't want to "destroy" the youngster's career by making him play in a format he is unaccustomed to.
"We have decided to include Taskin in the squad for the second practice match as we want to see how his body responds to longer-version cricket," Minhajul said on Saturday (October 15). "We had initially planned to see him in the fourth round of the National Cricket League but as it's been deferred we changed our plans
"We need a bowler like Taskin for our Test team but you all know there was concern with the strength of his body and fitness was a big issue. But he bowled brilliantly after coming back from suspension and looked good. He has no complaints about his fitness, so we have decided to take the first step of bringing him into the fold of longer-version cricket."
To which the coach responded: "Has he played any four-day cricket? So you think people can do magic straight away? No. They are humans. If you haven't played four-day cricket in your entire life, standing four days on the field and bowling 15 overs is entirely new for him. I don't want to destroy somebody's career.
Taskin has featured in 20 One-Day Internationals and 13 Twenty20 Internationals for Bangladesh since his international debut in 2014.
The coach also sent off a warning to Bangladesh's home fans against expecting miracles from the host nation in the two-match Test series against England. Bangladesh, who won six of their last seven ODI series before conceding a 1-2 loss to England, haven't played a Test since taking on South Africa at home for a two-Test series last July. Even in that Test, only three days of play was possible due to rain.
"You can't have plans if you don't have ammunition," Hathurusinghe said. "You can manage what you have, and that's what we are thinking. We will keep developing a strategy in the long-term. Don't expect us to do miracles straight away," he said
"If we happen to win the game, well and good. We are on the way. It will give us a lot of confidence. I am not too worried about what I don't have. I am trying to maximise what we have."
The coach rued the absence of domestic first-class tournaments that are competitive, which hampered the development of Bangladesh cricketers. The two first-class tournaments that Bangladesh has are the National Cricket League and franchise-based Bangladesh Cricket League. However, neither have fixed schedules and more often than not are played at sub-par grounds.
"I can't try players at the international level, which is the unfortunate thing in Bangladesh cricket that we are facing," said Hathurusinghe. "We have had a lot of injuries and players lose form because we haven't played for a long time. We don't know where the fast bowlers are at this stage. It is a matter of just trusting the players that we have in our midst and being patient," he said.
Bangladesh has, in the 93 Tests played, won only seven, with five of those coming against Zimbabwe. The first Test against England will be played in Chittagong starting October 20, while the second will begin on October 28 in Dhaka.
"We have decided to include Taskin in the squad for the second practice match as we want to see how his body responds to longer-version cricket," Minhajul said on Saturday (October 15). "We had initially planned to see him in the fourth round of the National Cricket League but as it's been deferred we changed our plans
"We need a bowler like Taskin for our Test team but you all know there was concern with the strength of his body and fitness was a big issue. But he bowled brilliantly after coming back from suspension and looked good. He has no complaints about his fitness, so we have decided to take the first step of bringing him into the fold of longer-version cricket."
To which the coach responded: "Has he played any four-day cricket? So you think people can do magic straight away? No. They are humans. If you haven't played four-day cricket in your entire life, standing four days on the field and bowling 15 overs is entirely new for him. I don't want to destroy somebody's career.
Taskin has featured in 20 One-Day Internationals and 13 Twenty20 Internationals for Bangladesh since his international debut in 2014.
The coach also sent off a warning to Bangladesh's home fans against expecting miracles from the host nation in the two-match Test series against England. Bangladesh, who won six of their last seven ODI series before conceding a 1-2 loss to England, haven't played a Test since taking on South Africa at home for a two-Test series last July. Even in that Test, only three days of play was possible due to rain.
"You can't have plans if you don't have ammunition," Hathurusinghe said. "You can manage what you have, and that's what we are thinking. We will keep developing a strategy in the long-term. Don't expect us to do miracles straight away," he said
"If we happen to win the game, well and good. We are on the way. It will give us a lot of confidence. I am not too worried about what I don't have. I am trying to maximise what we have."
The coach rued the absence of domestic first-class tournaments that are competitive, which hampered the development of Bangladesh cricketers. The two first-class tournaments that Bangladesh has are the National Cricket League and franchise-based Bangladesh Cricket League. However, neither have fixed schedules and more often than not are played at sub-par grounds.
"I can't try players at the international level, which is the unfortunate thing in Bangladesh cricket that we are facing," said Hathurusinghe. "We have had a lot of injuries and players lose form because we haven't played for a long time. We don't know where the fast bowlers are at this stage. It is a matter of just trusting the players that we have in our midst and being patient," he said.
Bangladesh has, in the 93 Tests played, won only seven, with five of those coming against Zimbabwe. The first Test against England will be played in Chittagong starting October 20, while the second will begin on October 28 in Dhaka.
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