‘Need to stop relying on spin’

Bangladesh succumbed to their fifth successive Test loss as India romped to an innings-and-46-run win in the second and final Test in Kolkata yesterday. Having lost the Test series 2-0 with both matches ending in innings defeat inside three days, there were inevitable questions about Bangladesh's focus on the longest format of the game.

Asked if there was a lack of focus from the board in the importance it placed on Test cricket, newly appointed captain Mominul Haque felt that in the last two to three years the team had participated in more Tests and, so the focus was there.

"I don't think focus is lacking. In the last two to three years there have been more Test matches and there is huge focus on the Test championship," Mominul said during a press conference yesterday.

The captain mostly talked about what can be learned from the defeats in Tests and what might happen in future to improve their Test mettle. There was no concrete answer on the disappointing lack of application from the batsmen. "We did not play well as a team," Mominul reiterated for the umpteenth time, continuing in the same vein as he has done during the series.

"We didn't bat well, although the bowlers did well. We feel that there is a lot of room from improvement. We have a lot of games coming up next year and if we can improve, we will be able to play well," he said.

However, instead of going into any detail about what areas needed improvement, he said there was no technical issue with the batsmen even after they failed to cope with the seam and bounce extracted by the Indian pacers.

"I didn't see any technical issues. There is no end to technical development. Everyone will try to improve.

He did however say that there was a level of preparation needed to face up to bowling attacks of the order India possessed. "As a team we will take the lesson of how to contend against a bowling side of this quality. It will be useful for the next series."

Having historically relied on their spin attack and being found out in away conditions, Mominul felt that the team had to come out of their spin dependency after the India pacers ran riot in both Tests.

"We need to get out of our reliance on spin. I think the pacers did very well in this series. When they can play regularly in home and away conditions, we will be able to gauge how much they have improved," he said.

However, pacers have not been given enough opportunities at home in the longer format in recent years. "When they [pacers] are given more opportunity away and also at home, they will improve. In the last two years there have been changes in the country's wickets in the domestic circuit. There are sporting wickets and the teams are playing three to four pacers. Our pacers are coming through slowly.

There is a gulf in ability and experience between the teams. Playing more matches was the solution for the captain. "We don't play Tests regularly. We have almost 10 Tests in the coming year. When we will play more, we will be able to overcome our problems," he said about improving the team if he remains for the long run.