Former national captain Habibul Bashar yesterday informed the media that the Bangladesh A team’s upcoming tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe will be important for both the cricketers and the selectors.
“I think any A team’s tour is important for both the players and the selectors. And, it’s a great platform for the cricketers to prove themselves. We can also assess the players quite well. It’s a great opportunity for every member of the team and at the same time we also want to see how they perform in the difficult conditions of South Africa and Zimbabwe,” said national selector Bashar.
The 16-member Bangladesh A team, led by Shuvagata Hom with Soumya Sarkar as his deputy, will leave here for Africa tomorrow where they will play a three-dayer and two one-dayers against South Africa and two four-dayers and three one-dayers against Zimbabwe.
And according to the former middle-order batsman, the A team’s main focus should be on the longer-version matches.
“We are going to play quite a few longer-version games in this tour and obviously, the main focus would be reserved for the longer-version matches. But at the same time, we would like to continue our good work in the shorter formats. As we are a Test-playing nation, we need to give more longer-version opportunities to our cricketers. And, I think longer-version cricket is like a habit where the more you play the format, the better you adapt,” he said.
The 43-year old added that some of the members of the A team will be returning midway through the tour to join the national side for the home series against Zimbabwe next month.
“Yes, a few of the cricketers will return for the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe as we were not sure earlier if the Zimbabwe series would take place or not. But, we thought that if we kept some of the players for the Zimbabwe series and the tour did not take place, then it would be a big disappointment for us as we want to see the players at the middle. It’s very important for the cricketers to gain experience,” he added.
