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Bangladesh Test team cricketers left for New Zealand on Wednesday midnight, where they are scheduled to play two Test matches starting from January 1 2022.
Pakistan cricket team also left Bangladesh on Thursday morning after winning all the matches in this tour, three twenty20 internationals and two Test matches.
Bangladesh lost both the Test matches against Pakistan at home and their record in New Zealand is not very convincing as the Tigers have lost all nine matches they played in New Zealand.
Khaled Mahmud, former captain and a director at Bangladesh Cricket Board, who has been made the Team Director for the New Zealand series, is also not very much optimistic after the recent debacles.
“What will happen with this team in New Zealand… I won’t say anything negative, but if you see, we have played in New Zealand quite a few times but have never been able to do well. Not only us, all the teams from Asia struggle in New Zealand. This is not an excuse. We have to play better cricket,” said Mahmud.
Bangladesh will play two Tests as part of the ICC World Test Championship’s second cycle. New Zealand are the winners of the previous cycle and currently ranked second in the ICC Test rankings, whereas Bangladesh are in ninth place.
In New Zealand, Bangladesh mostly struggled against pacers, but this time they should be very wary of the oppositions spin attack as well as Ajaj Patel became the third bowler to pick all the 10 wickets in an innings of a Test match in his last appearance.
Bangladesh will play two warm-up games in New Zealand, before taking on the hosts in the first Test of the series on the first day of 2022 at Mount Maunganui.
Shakib Al Hasan opted out of the Test series citing personal reasons, and Rangana Herath joined the team again as the spin-bowling coach.
