Bangladesh Twenty20 International skipper Shakib Al Hasan has put the onus on making gradual improvements in the 20-over format ahead of the Tigers’ Asia Cup 2022 campaign later this week and said that he is looking forward to qualifying for the Super 4s.
The ace all-rounder admitted that making the final would be a difficult task but emphasised on the importance of improving, deeming it as a possible achievement before the T20I World Cup.
“We want to focus on the improvement graph going up. Even if we become the Asia Cup champion but we don’t do well in the T20 World Cup, it doesn’t really count. We must focus on steady improvement, so that we can be one of the best teams in the World Cups in 2024 and 2026,” Shakib said on the importance of gradual improvements.
“It is difficult for us (to think about the final). We have to play well in these two matches. If we can show a shadow of improvement from what we have done in the last year and a half, that’d be an achievement,” he added.
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With that being said, Shakib assured that the Tigers should be able to make it to the Super 4s in the tournament.
“We should make it to the Super 4s. I feel that when we can’t achieve targets that we set before a tournament, you will tell us that we talk big but we couldn’t achieve the target. Let us have our targets in the dressing room. I don’t want to discuss it,” he said on Monday.
The Tigers lost 13 of their last 15 T20I matches, including consecutive series losses against West Indies and Zimbabwe.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board’s attempts to rejuvenate the T20 cricket mentality of the Tigers have resulted in their appointment of Sridharan Sriram, who will travel with the team as the technical consultant.
While trying to bring in a breath of fresh air into Bangladesh’s T20 cricket, BCB decided to set aside the current head coach Russel Domingo from T2OIs, but the South African will remain at the helm for Tests and ODIs.
BCB President Nazmul Hassan announced the decision on Monday saying that there will not be a head coach leading, but said that it will be a group effort, with Sriram setting the game plans.
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“Russell Domingo won’t be part of the T20 set-up. He will be with ODIs and Tests,” Hassan said.
“There’s no head coach. We have a batting coach, a spin coach, fast bowling coach and fielding coach. We have the captain. We also have a technical consultant for T20s. He will give the game plan. We will have the team director, Jalal bhai and myself,” he added.
Domingo embraced the decision as he welcomed the idea of bringing in a change in the structure of the T20 team. The South African also said that this break would help him to focus on the 50-over World Cup in India.
“I think it’s a great idea. It gives me a nice focus on the Test match and 50-over stuff. We have had some great results, and bad results in T20s. I don’t think it is a bad idea to make a fresh approach in T20s. I am very open-minded about it. It is not my team. It is not about me. I am all for making the team better. It gives me nice clarity with the 50-over World Cup coming,” he said.
