Hard for Fizz to play all three Tests: Walsh
It's been a long and restless last few months for the Bangladesh cricketers, especially the fast bowlers, with the likes of Mustafizur Rahman and Rubel Hossain arriving in New Zealand immediately after finishing their month-long commitments in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
The intensity will only pick up for the cricketers leading up to the ICC World Cup in England in May this year, which will follow hot on the heels of a tri-nation ODI series in Ireland. Before going to Ireland, the members of the national team will also take part in the Dhaka Premier League, which they will partake in after the end of the New Zealand tour.
According to Bangladesh bowling coach Courtney Walsh, it will be important for Mustafizur to manage his workload, going as far as to say that it will be hard for the left-arm seamer to play all three Tests in New Zealand.
"In the case of Mustafizur, we have to make sure he is fine and try to get him fresh. So the question will be how many Tests the selectors want him to play here and once we know that we can monitor his workload. I think in this case it's important to be communicative and we have to look what surface suits him here and it's going to be hard for him to play all three Test matches in my estimation, if you want him to keep fresh.
"Obviously, we are here to win the Test series, so we have to look for the best team in the first Test and I am positive about it. So he is probably going to carry a bit of workload and he knows that. I have got to make sure he doesn't over-bowl in practice or in practice matches. That's my job and responsibility to try keep him fresh," said Walsh in Christchurch after the second day of the two-day practice game was washed out after just 12 overs.
It will be challenging for the seamers to play three Test matches in the span of 24 days with the first game starting from February 28 in Hamilton, so the team management will surely look to rotate the seamers to provide enough rest for the players.
However, one of the all-time fast bowling greats in history did prescribe another seamer, Rubel, to play as many games as he can leading up to the World Cup as he missed out on two games in the recently concluded three-ODI series against New Zealand.
"If it's up to me, yes, Rubel could play some more games because unfortunately, he didn't play a lot of games here. He has done well in the BPL and most games for Bangladesh he has played. So I think it's important for him to play up until the World Cup and to play as many matches as he can once he is been looked after," he added.