Enthusiasm and hunger can trump experience: Simmons
The Tigers will be keen to get back into the groove on home soil when they return to the international circuit after nearly ten months in the upcoming series against the West Indies.
West Indies have travelled the most during the pandemic, starting with a tour of England that signalled the resumption of international cricket in July last year amid the Covid-19 threat.
Given their relatively inexperienced line-up, West Indies head coach Simmons conceded that Bangladesh were clear favorites but added that enthusiasm could at times undo experience.
"Bangladesh are clearly favourites and we can't argue with that," Simmons said during a virtual press conference yesterday. "Sometimes experience plays a part and sometimes enthusiasm and hunger play a role and trump experience. Hopefully we can do well," he said.
Top players like Jason Holder, Keiron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo opted to skip the tour citing fears of Covid-19 after travelling to the UK and touring New Zealand. When asked whether those players had made the wrong call, Simmons said: "I think all our players have been given their options since the first series in England. Some took their options in the first series, some in the second series in New Zealand and some decided to skip the third here in Bangladesh. It is up to the individual and it's the players who make their call."
In the new normal, life inside a bio-secure bubble can take a toll on the players' mental health and West Indies faced some trouble maintaining health protocols in New Zealand recently.
Simmons believes any away series is tough, but opined that the West Indies were one of the most experienced when it comes to staying inside bio-secure bubbles.
"It's definitely not easy to be away from home. The two series we played, everything was put into the series. No series away is easy as I said before. We are going to give our best.
"It's important what you learn as you go along. We are one of the most experienced teams when it comes to staying inside a bio-secure bubble. And you know you have to stick to the bio-secure environment and keep health safety intact and it's all about learning as you go along," Simmons said.
The last time the Caribbean side toured Bangladesh was back in 2018, with the losing both the ODI and Test series although they had a full-strength team. Despite a relatively young side this time around, Simmons said that they have a balanced unit with both spinners and pacers in the squad and were eying a series win.