'Now we can look to the future'

Shane Jurgensen, who is just a contract signature away from officially becoming the head coach of the Bangladesh cricket team, returned to the country recently after a short break. Speaking to reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Jurgensen stated that he was going to try and take the positive momentum from Bangladesh's ODI series win against the West Indies into the tour of Sri Lanka.
Jurgensen, who has been serving as interim head coach since Richard Pybus's departure in May, was recommended for the permanent role to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) by the cricket operations committee. It is believed that only formalities remain for Jurgensen to assume the role.
“For me it's going to be a continuation from the West Indies series (in November-December last year). I had plans in place in case I wasn't in Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe. But for now we can look to the future.
“I am looking forward to working on some long-term planning now. Obviously the West Indies series was more about that series, but now with an extended period we can start thinking about long-term development. We want to improve in Test cricket and we are also looking to improve in T20 cricket with the T20 World Cup coming up,” he added.
Together with the team management, Jurgensen has already set a plan for the tour of Sri Lanka, the camp for which will begin on February 20. “For the camp, we have got two dates, basically the guys whose BPL is finished they will report on the 20th. The guys who are playing in the second round of the BPL can come by the 24th. They will go home, take a break but then come back for a really good day's work. After that, we go to Sri Lanka and acclimatise to their conditions,” said Jurgensen,
He also stated that he, along with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) had a special set-up with the pacers. “Last few weeks we have had good support from the NCA. We targeted eight bowlers that could be in the final squad and they have been in the academy to see (fitness trainer) Stuart Karppinen. The key is that they need to be bowling their overs. If they bowl their overs they will be fine,” he said. He further added that there were chances to witness a few new faces in the upcoming tour, an aspect that will be judged based on the domestic performances of the players.
Sri Lanka have an indomitable record at home and it was an aspect that Jurgensen said he was ready for. When asked about a realistic target for the series, he said “I won't answer that question. At the moment I obviously want us to win. We need to have that attitude, we need to put ourselves in a position to win. For the moment, we need to let our past records go and play the best we can. If we get the process right we will win. That's how I'll be approaching it.”