‘Need to play some fast bowlers’
The first assignment for newly appointed Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo was clearly a disappointing one. The South African was little more than a spectator in the Tigers' one-off Test against Afghanistan, where Bangladesh were handed a 224-run thumping in Chattogram last Monday. Domingo, who was just handed his new role in mid-August, had to rely on inputs from seniors and skipper Shakib Al Hasan while making plans for the Chattogram Test.
However, going into the triangular T20 series -- featuring hosts Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan -- opener against Zimbabwe at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today, Domingo would be a bit more aware of the realities of Bangladesh cricket. And as such, a shift in strategy could also be seen in the tri-nation tournament.
Bangladesh's spin ploy against the Afghans did not come off in the Test. The Tigers went with four spinners and no specialist pacers in the squad -- the only pace bowler in the team was the part-timer Soumya Sarkar.
However, Domingo had made it clear that the same tactics would not be applied for the T20 matches anymore, keeping in mind the conditions in Australia where the ICC Men's World Twenty20 will be held from October 2020.
"This is totally a different format and different conditions, and there is a World Cup in Australia, so you need to play some fast bowlers. I think it's really important," said Domingo to the reporters during a press conference in Mirpur yesterday.
Bangladesh will be playing their next ODI in May 2020 when they will tour Ireland for three ODIs, three T20Is and a solitary Test. While this huge eight-month gap from the Tigers' favoured format is a concern for many, Domingo thought otherwise as he saw it as an opportunity for Bangladesh to improve in the two other formats.
"Particularly, the Test match format and the Twenty20 format, these two require a lot of attention and a lot of focus in the next couple of months. Fortunately, there is not a lot of one-day cricket [in the near future] but there is a lot of Test and Twenty20 cricket, so we can try to improve in those formats," concluded Domingo.
It can be said that when Bangladesh will be facing Zimbabwe today in the T20 tri-series opener in Mirpur, the Tigers will look to apply some reformed tactics.
Zimbabwe skipper Hamilton Masakadza, meanwhile, said that his team will not be far behind from their opposition in the tournament, even though they are ranked four places lower than 10th-placed Bangladesh.
"Both teams [Bangladesh and Afghanistan] are really very strong. Afghanistan is playing very good T20 cricket lately and Bangladesh have been around for a while. Both sides are really strong. We have had a lot of success in T20 cricket here. We have played very well in Bangladesh in T20 cricket. So I don't think that we are going to start far behind them." said Masakadza yesterday in Mirpur.
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