Akram happy with T20 progress

The national cricketers will return to training on July 5 to prepare for the upcoming Ireland tour.
The team will get back its inspirational all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was rested for the just-concluded unofficial T20 tri-series in Zimbabwe, for the tour while there is a good chance to see paceman Shafiul Islam back after he recovered from a shoulder injury.
“Shafiul [Islam]'s condition is good now and we are hopeful of his availability for the Ireland tour, but we will take a final decision after talking with our physio [Vibhav Singh],” said chief selector Akram Khan yesterday.
“We are likely to announce a 20-member team for the camp within the next 2-3 days. We don't want to announce the final squad as we want to see 4-5 players in action. We are not in favour of bringing any major changes but definitely we will consider the conditions in Ireland before picking the team,” he informed.
When asked about the performance of young Anamul Haque and Abul Hasan in Zimbabwe, Akram opined that they have to be given them enough time to prove potential in the international cricket.
“Our expectations were never high on the young players rather we believe that we have to be patient and give them enough time to make sure they can make the adjustment with the highest level of the game. Anamul, [Abul Hasan] Raju and Zia [Ziaur Rahman] all tried their best in Zimbabwe,” said Akram.
“We must make a few changes in the team as Shakib is returning after the break and there is a good chance we can get back Shafiul for the tour. You know Shakib is a big factor for our team but still without him the team performance was not bad in Zimbabwe though they failed to fulfill my expectations,” observed the chief selector.
“We played the series in Zimbabwe without the full strength bowling attack but the bowlers did a decent job and our batting was also impressive. The frustrating part was our fielding and I think we have to focus on this area before the next assignment,” added Akram.
The former national skipper said that they are very much hopeful that the team will be at its best before the next ICC Twenty20 World Cup to be held in Sri Lanka in September.
“We have got a good opportunity to take prefect preparation before the World Cup. We showed in Zimbabwe that we started to understand the craft of the T20 cricket and I believe the next few matches will help us lot,” said Akram.
The Tigers will play three T20 Internationals against Ireland and one each against Scotland and the Netherlands and after the Europe trip; the team will play a T20 tournament in Trinidad and Tobago in August this year.