‘No extra plan regarding Rashid’
With Bangladesh set to take on Afghanistan in a one-off Test which begins on September 5, it is not surprising that the Tigers are more focused on finding ways to navigate the spin heavy Afghan bowling attack during their net sessions.
Bangladesh opener Shadman Islam, who will almost certainly play the opening role in the Test against Afghanistan, said that the Tigers are readying themselves for the upcoming challenge at home.
"We are planning a bit differently for the match against Afghanistan as they have a very good spin attack. We always work extra for facing pacers so we thought of putting in some extra work to play spin this time. Most of their players, like Rashid Khan or Mohammad Nabi, all bowl with variations. For that reason we are working on playing spin more as we usually work on playing pace." said Shadman after yesterday's practice session in Mirpur.
According to Shadman, even though the Tigers are going the extra mile to face spin bowling, it does not mean they are intimidated by Rashid Khan, who is currently considered as one of the most lethal leg-spinners in the World. Shadman also mentioned that they do have any special plans to tackle the 20-year-old Afghanistan skipper.
"We do not have any extra plans regarding Rashid Khan since we will play a Test match and to bowl in shorter formats and in Tests are two different things. So we are not worried about him as we plan to play in the usual way we play against spinners. We play against some quality spinners in our country so I do not think that Rashid Khan can put us under extra pressure. Also the format is very different, it cannot be matched with T20s." concluded Shadman.
Bangladesh batsmen have struggled against Rashid in ODIs and T20Is almost every time they faced Afghanistan in the two shorter formats. In addition, since this is the first time that the two nations will face each other in a Test, it remains to be seen how the Tigers will fare against a Rashid led Afghanistan side, who have four frontline spinners in their ranks.
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