'14-month gap too much'
All-rounder Nasir Hossain has simply forgotten when he last played a Test match. He was part of the team when Bangladesh played their last Test against South Africa in Mirpur but it was back in July-August last year, so Nasir cannot be blamed if the date escapes recollection.
Lack of Test matches is the biggest concern for a rising team like Bangladesh and it will not be easy to perform to their potential when taking the field in whites after 14 months' break as they are scheduled to play their next Test against England in October this year.
“I don't know when I last played a Test. Just forgot it. Tests are really difficult, so it will be difficult for us when we play a Test again after such a long break. You have chances to improve only when you play more games,” said Nasir, who so far played 17 Tests with a batting average of 37.34, while responding to a question regarding Bangladesh's long gap between Tests during a press conference yesterday in Mirpur.
Bangladesh had wonderful success in ODI format last year but since the ODI series against Zimbabwe in November last year, the Tigers have also had a long break in their favourite format. Nasir however believes that the long break in ODIs will not be a problem when they play England at home in October.
“In ODIs our main target would be to continue our good and consistent performance in this format. We have not played ODIs for the last 10 months but I don't think it will be a major problem and we are going to play some practice matches, so that will also help us,” Nasir, who has so far played 56 ODIs with an average of 32.39, opined.
Despite impressive performances, Nasir's place in the team as a spin-bowling all-rounder is far from guaranteed; he was very much an irregular member in the T20 team and the all-rounder also admitted that there is huge competition for places in the team. Aditionally, the arrival of a player like Mosaddek Hossain has further heightened the competition.
“It's not only for my place but now it's difficult for everybody to keep their place in the team because the number of performers has increased. In the national team now, nobody can say that he owns his place and without any doubt the competition is now more than earlier,” said Nasir.
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