Camp in Bogura a success: Bashar

The camp of Bangladesh Tigers, a shadow team of the Bangladesh national team, which ended on Monday was a success, claimed national team selector Habibul Bashar.

The camp started on February 25 at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogura with 23 players, including five players from the Bangladesh Test squad for the upcoming South Africa tour.

Bashar said that considering it was done to prepare for the series against Proteas, the camp was a success.

“We have talked with the players and the coaches, and they have given us very positive feedback. They were happy to get sporting pitches and are satisfied with the facilities. The curators have delivered, and we can say that our practice camp ahead of the South Africa series has been a success,” the former Bangladesh skipper said.

Bashar inferred that the Bangladesh Tigers project from the Bangladesh Cricket Board will also make the selection process for the national team easier.

“It is difficult to keep players, who don’t make the squads, fit and ready, especially in the offseason. We want to look beyond the first 20 and keep players ready and in contention for the national team since we have a lot of matches ahead. There may be injuries and other issues and keeping players ready will make the selection process much easier,” he said.

Champaka Ramanayake worked as the bowling coach of the Bangladesh Tigers, but Bashar hinted at more specialists and facilities being added to the program.

“We have Champaka Ramanayake working as a specialist bowling coach in the Bangladesh Tigers program. Most of our recent fast-bowlers have come through under his supervision. We will look to bring in more specialists on board in the future. We will be looking to add a lot of facilities into the program in the future,” he said.