‘Don’t want to make knee-jerk reactions’

“We don’t want to be a team that makes knee-jerk reactions to a loss. It has been the case for this team for too long. We want to back a certain group of players. If somebody has a bad game, that doesn’t mean he won’t play for the next six months,” Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo said in reply to whether there were going to be a lot of changes for the third and final T20I against India.

Sources close to the team claimed that there would be some sort of changes after the off-spinners came in for a bit of stick following the last game although the think-tank are likely to stick with three pacers.

Domingo also cited that the presence of left-handers in India’s top-order meant that not much could change. However, with Aminul Islam bowling well and captain Mahmdullah Riyad himself providing a spin option, a batsman could come in for an off-spinning all-rounder.

The pitch is expected to closely resemble the one at Rajkot but with the surface being laid only a few months ago, it may not exactly behave the way that the wicket in the second T20I did. Queried, Domingo replied to this reporter: “I think 150-160 could be good score here.”

Earlier, during the press conference he had hoped that the spinners could play a part. “We feel we are very much in the contest if the wicket spins.”

The surface could provide some skid for the bowlers and T20Is over the last few years have not produced big runs here. Asked if 150-160 would be a good score, Russell said: “Yes, I think so. 

India skipper Rohit Sharma also spoke about the pitch during his press conference yesterday, saying: “Nagpur generally is a very good track to play cricket actually. It assists the bowlers also if you are bowling in the right channels.”