Bangladesh fast bowler Rubel Hossain said he has done his homework regarding bowling and fitness for the South Africa tour as the pitches out there will help the fast bowlers more on greenish tracks.
Bangladesh have picked five pacers in the Test squad for the two-match series against the Proteas.
Apart from Rubel there are four more pacers in the squad in the shape of Taskin Ahmed, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Subashish Roy.
“Fair competition is always very good and appreciated. It impacts on the team’s performance. I think the competition in the team is very good. Every pace bowler will seek to perform because they know they have to perform to remain in the team. Such challenge is better for the bowlers. I think every pacer will enjoy such challenge also,” Rubel told the media in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday.
“If I get chance to bowl, I will try to perform well and give breakthrough to the team. I’m ready to fight for the team. When captain will tell me to bowl I’ll give my 100%. If I am fit and sound I could perform better. As I am touring South Africa I’ve enormous self-confidence that I could fare well in this tour.
“I’m working hard in the practice sessions. Regularly I’m doing my gym and focusing more on my fitness. Of course, I have done many works on my bowling; how I could maintain line and length for the longer period. I’m working on my swing. Mainly we all know that there will be advantages for pace bowlers in South African conditions. We have to bowl with much concentration. We, the pace bowlers, became excited to see the grassy wickets. So, we have to pay more attention because maintaining line and length are important on grassy wickets,” he said.
Bangladesh have won Tests against England and Australia at home and against Sri Lanka away in the last few months.
But the South Africa tour will be tough for the Tigers as sub-continent teams often struggle there to cope up with the pace and bounce of the wickets.
“We haven’t set any targets of winning against South Africa. We have to play better brand of cricket. I think the tour will be better, the Test series will be exciting,” he said.
“The tour to South Africa will be really challenging. The challenge is not only for me but for the team also. We all know that the wickets in South Africa are pace-friendly. We’ve set our mindset in that fashion. Along with that, we’ve taken our preparation how we have to bowl and bat on those bouncy and pace-supporting decks,” he explained.
When asked which South Africa batsman he wants to dismiss the most, Rubel answered Hashim Amla.
“There are four to five batsmen in South African team who are in the top 10 of the world ranking. Every wicket of them is very important for us to take. But I will feel better if I can take the wicket of Hashim Amla,” he concluded.
