Home ›› 02 Aug 2021 ›› Sport
The visiting Australian team might not be as invincible as they used to be, but still, they are a side to fear for Bangladesh, especially in the shortest format. But yet, the Tigers head coach Russel Domingo is looking to exploit the human side of the Aussies to dig out some success.
The five-match twenty20 international series is all set to start from Tuesday and in the customary pre-series virtual press conference on Sunday, Domingo said that his boys would try to make the most of the human errors of the opponent.
“Mitchell Starc and (Josh) Hazlewood are quality bowlers, and we have looked at some of their footage. But at the end of the day, you will play the ball, not the man. They are humans and will bowl some bad balls. We got to play with clear minds that we have got to put away the bad balls,” the South African coach told the media.
The Aussies also have a couple of quality leg-spinners in Adam Zampa and Mitchel Swepson, and with leg-spin being an Achilles heel of the Tigers, they could wreak havoc. But Domingo is hopeful that Bangladesh batsmen will negotiate them well.
“As I said, we will play the ball, not the name. Playing consecutive matches in a short time might help the spinners in the last matches, but I do not think wicket will be a major factor,” Domingo said in the press conference on Sunday.
Domingo also clears that there are no immediate injury concerns in the team.
“Firstly, there is no major injury concern. Soumya Sarkar is recovering from a mild strain that is carrying from Zimbabwe, but I am pretty confident that he will be fit,” he said.
The wicket of Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla Stadium is not the conventional T20I belter where both the teams engage in a run-fest, and due to the covid-19 protocols, chief curator Gamini De Silva will have limited access this time during the series. But still, Domingo expects good wickets throughout the series.
“I think we are going to play on good wickets, and there is no doubt that conditions here suit us more than when we play away from home. You got to play T20 cricket on good wickets because it is what we will face when we play in the World Cup away from home. I am pretty sure we are going to the good wicket for the series,” Domingo told the media on Sunday.
Without Stalwarts like Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim, Domingo must find the right combination to put up a competitive display against the Aussies.
“I definitely see some of the younger players putting in some big performances. It is good to see Soumya showing some consistency, Naim Sheikh and Shoriful Islam putting in match-winning performances. I am pleased to see the progress of the side. We know we are not a complete team yet, and we still have a long way to go to be that. But there are some really good signs, and some of those young players with little experience are putting in some big performances,” Domingo said.
Bangladesh are not a very good T20I side as they have won only 34 matches out of 102 T20Is played so far. And the majority of those wins came against teams like Zimbabwe and other lower-ranked teams, which reflects in the T20 rankings.
But Domingo believes Bangladesh is a far better side than what the numbers say.
“I do not think we are a bad T20 team at all and think we got some wonderful T20 players, and if backed and supported and be more positive about them, they can be a force to reckon. We know we have to improve, but there is a process. And we have not played many T20Is over the last year. The T20 series against New Zealand was disappointing, but we played really well against Zimbabwe. We are confident that we can get some positives from the series,” the Bangladesh head coach said.
