Tigers return for brief respite

There will be very little time to reflect on the 1-1 series draw against Australia as the Tigers returned to the capital from Chittagong, the city where the second Test was played, yesterday and have less than 10 days to contemplate the challenge that lies in wait less in South Africa.

The team is scheduled to fly for South Africa on September 16, and will play their tour-opening three-day warm-up match in Benoni from September 21. It will be the start of a two-Test, three-ODI and two-T20I tour of a country that hosts conditions most unfamiliar to Bangladesh cricketers. The Tigers have toured South Africa twice before for two-Test series in 2002 and 2008, and have suffered innings defeats in all four matches in the seam-friendly conditions.

The Australia team, meanwhile, are scheduled to return to Dhaka today and fly to India where they will play an ODI series.

There will be no pre-series training camp for the South Africa series as the Tigers had already participated in the nearly month-and-a-half conditioning and skills camp before the Australia series. A 15-man squad for the two Tests in South Africa is likely to be named today, and there are expected to be a few changes, dictated by the conditions, especially in the bowling line-up.

Bangladesh Cricket Board chief selector Minhazul Abedin said that they will include five pace bowlers in the squad, a sea change from the second Test against Australia where Mustafizur Rahman was the lone pacer.

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha is set to fly off to Australia within the next couple of days, and will join the team in South Africa at the start of the tour. The cricketers will take a break from now until their departure date.