'Let's not pressurise these young men'
Bangladesh Under-19 technical advisor Stuart Law has reiterated the importance of not putting too much pressure on the team ahead of the Under-19 World Cup due to begin later this month.
When asked what he thought was one of the crucial reasons behind Bangladesh's early exits from the World Cup in the past, Law said: "I think there is so much pressure being placed on the young fellows. Within the game of cricket, there is enough pressure and if you have got the weight of everyone on your shoulders, it creates a lot of confusion."
"I am just telling the boys, let's not worry about winning the competition. If we start doing the basics well, the rest will fall into place. If we don't, then we don't deserve to win. So at the moment, we are not thinking about the World Cup," he added.
Mehedy Miraz and co's first test ahead of the World Cup will begin on January 11 when they take on the West Indies. They will be playing three matches against them which are scheduled to take place on January 11, 14 and 16. The first match will take place at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, while the other two will be played in Chittagong.
The Bangladesh team had toured India for a tri-series and lost all the matches to the hosts. Law though wasn't worried about those results and believes that he will get to see where the team truly stands after the series.
"What happened in India doesn't really count for anything at this stage. The West Indies series is what I am looking forward to. That's where we really need to start understanding our roles and improving quickly," the Australian said.
In a similar vein, West Indies Under-19 skipper Shimron Hetmyer said that he hopes his side can adjust to the conditions as quickly as possible through the series.
"In terms of preparation we have been kind of short. I won't say really short, but we hadn't have had as much as we could have. We are really looking forward to this series and seeing how well we can play in Bangladesh, because for most of the guys, it's the first time here," said Hetmyer.
He further added that the three-match series will be an advantage for their side in terms of coping with the conditions.
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