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Bangladesh Test captain Shakib Al Hasan, after a thrashing by West Indies at St Lucia, told the media that without a proper ‘Test Culture’, the team will not perform well enough.
Shakib, who often skipped Test series for playing in the franchise-based Twenty20 leagues abroad, said after the second Test, where they lost by 10 wickets, that the players were not the only ones to blame.
“You can not only blame the players. The system is such in our country. When have you seen that 30 thousand people watching a Test match? In England, you will see 25 thousand spectators in every Test. We did not have the Test Culture, and not even now we don’t have it,” the all-rounder said after the match.
The fourth day of the St Lucia Test started late due to a wet outfield, but that did not stop the Caribbeans from securing another big win. From 132-6, Bangladesh were all-out for 186. Thanks to Nurul Hasan’s half-century, Bangladesh got a tiny lead of 12 runs and at least avoided an innings defeat
John Campbell (9*) and Kraigg Brathwaite (4*) had no problem scoring 13 runs and sealed the series 2-0, which took them above England in the ICC Test Championship table with 54 points.
Shakib also admits that despite not having a proper ‘Test Culture’ in Bangladesh, even after playing 134 Test matches in 22 years, they can create one.
“Though it is not there that does not mean we can’t create one. We have to change the scenario. That is our big responsibility. But for that, we all have to come together and make a plan for progress. Maybe that can change the situation. Otherwise, we cannot progress much,” he said after the match.
“As I said that there is no culture. I must say, we don’t value Test cricket highly. Maybe it is because we don’t do well in Test, and that’s why we don’t value Test cricket much. Everything is correlated, one part must complement the other part. Only then we can do something good,” added the skipper.
Bangladesh managed to defeat Australia and England at home but those were on ‘doctored pitches’, according to current head coach Russel Domingo. But Shakib is a firm believer in winning at any cost at home.
“One thing we must make sure that we shouldn’t lose at home. Either we will draw or win. If we can make this improvement, it can give us a boost in away matches. We might not win even after that, but we will play competitive cricket,” said Shakib.
Chandika Hathurusinghe chalked out some plans to tackle teams like Australia and England at home which worked, and Shakib also hinted at taking that route.
“It is very important for us that we must play home Tests with a proper plan. We must make sure that we won’t lose. We must win or at least draw the series. We must make sure that we are not losing the series,” said the Test captain.
The West Indies tour was the last away series for Bangladesh in the current cycle of the World Test Championship, where they are lying at the bottom. The Tigers have one more series left against India at home at the end of this year.
Shakib feels that Bangladesh can make some improvements before the next series.
“Those who are interested to play Test matches or those who intend to play Tests, hopefully, they will improve their skills. We don’t have another set of players who can come and take us to the next level. If all of us can plan and make progress together only then we can do something good,” Shakib said in the post-match press conference.
“Otherwise, things will go like it has been going, no real chances of change,” added Shakib.
