Plan for youngsters paying off

While Bangladesh do not have the services of experienced stars such as Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal on the India tour, youngsters such as Afif Hossain, Aminul Islam and Naim Sheikh stepped up during the first T20I in Delhi, where Bangladesh clinched their maiden T20I win over India. Chief selector Minhajul Abedin said that plans to bring youngsters through the ranks in the last few months were bearing fruit.

“It’s not possible to satisfy everyone as a selector. What we tried was for the HP and ‘A’ team to play as many matches as possible, as they did, much like the national team. They can take the experience of how to play international matches from there,” Minhajul told reporters yesterday.

Afif and Aminul both made an impact with the ball against India while Naim gave Bangladesh some stability at the top alongside Soumya Sarkar. Both Aminul and Naim have played for emerging team and A team recently.

“Biplob [Aminul], Naim did not seem like they were far from the international arena. The last three months of nursing have come good,” Minhajul said.

The chief selector reiterated that there was no pressure on them to win the series tomorrow.

‘It would be a great achievement to beat India in India and it will also have to be kept in mind that they are a much more experienced side. We are not stressing about the series here. As it’s a T20 game, it’s difficult to say how the team will play. If our cricketers can play at their best level tomorrow, we can expect good cricket,” he said.

He said that the focus cannot be on players who are not there. “Shakib could not play the final [against West Indies, which Bangladesh won] in Ireland. We should not think about who’s playing and who’s not. Whoever plays has to utilise the platform, has to play well and get established,” he concluded.

During yesterday’s press conference, skipper Mahmudullah Riyad agreed that the youngsters had earned their places. “Afif, Naim and Biplob are very good youngsters. They have proven their capability to do well in the side, so they deserve their places and hopefully they will continue the same way they have started.”