Chief selector Faruk Ahmed thinks Bangladesh’s upcoming West Indies tour promises to be a preparation for the 2015 World Cup down under as he sits today to pick the final squad for the month-long tour after he had a meeting with the new coach Chandika Hathurusingha and skipper Mushfiqur Rahim yesterday for their opinion.
“We had a meeting with the skipper and the coach to know their suggestions and their opinions about the team, like where we are playing and in what condition we are expected to play. We will sit tomorrow again,” said Faruk.
The former captain of Bangladesh thinks the batting department is a matter of concern for the team as both top and the lower middle order failed to click during the recent home series against India where the Tigers lost the second ODI despite restricting the visitors to 105 and later capitulating for a shocking 58 runs. The Tigers eventually lost the three match series 2-0 with a match abandoned due to rain.
“Batting is definitely a concern as we did not do well in the past except occasionally. We did well in the first match of the last series but could not win a low scoring match. We are struggling as a few players together have lost form. The opening pair is not clicking and so is the lower middle order which used to to be our strength before. I think we have to take this as a preparation for the World Cup,” said Faruk.
Bangladesh will play three ODIs, two Tests and a T20 international against West Indies and the Tigers are supposed to leave for the Caribbean late in August.
However, the 48 year old also thinks the pitch and the condition in West Indies have changed compared to past. He also informed that the batsmen are working hard as they are practicing playing short pitch deliveries courtesy of the bowling machine and Faruk is optimistic Bangladesh team will do well under the new coach.
No doubt the Tigers will miss their most skilled cricketer Shakib al Hasan due to his six month suspension, and Faruk sounded resigned to the loss as he thinks it’s part of cricket while adding at the same time that they now have to pick an extra bowler and a batsman to replace Shakib.
“Shakib is an important player but it can happen in cricket. We have played without Shakib before. The only thing that needs to be considered as the chairman of the selection panel is that we then had to replace Shakib by two players as he functions equally both with the bat and the ball,” said Faruk.
On the other hand, the chief selector expects opener Tamim Iqbal will recover soon from his current lean patch and regain form before next year’s World Cup although the experienced left-hander has been struggling with the bat for quite some time. He then justified his expectation by adding that Tamim has been working hard to return to form and they also have the backup options.
It is widely speculated that Bangladesh A team’s recent tour of West Indies will be helpful for some of the national players who were part of the second string national side along with some youngsters.
However, there is less chance for any new player to get into the side and Faruk did not deny this.
Taijul Islam, the young left-arm spinner who has been performing well and picking up wickets consistently, may get the opportunity to make his Test debut against West Indies while fast bowler Robiul Islam who was left out from the Test side against Sri Lanka earlier this year will get another opportunity to prove his worth in the upcoming series.