Greetings, Mahela. How have you been doing?
Good, very good, thank you.
The World Cup has changed drastically over the years, with more and more runs being scored these days. How do you assess the changes?
Yeah, I mean, it’s different obviously, it (World Cup) has evolved, the skills have improved of most of the players and the teams. T20 cricket has probably brought in that element, the way players are fearless and go about it. It’s fascinating to see, big scores and all that. You need good, quality bowlers to control these batting line-ups. It’s going to be an amazing World Cup in the sense that conditions are going to play a big part so we have to wait and see.
The game of cricket has gradually become a batsman’s game with big bats and shorter boundaries. What is your take on this?
No, not really, we still have quality bowlers going around and those guys can make an impact in the tournament, hey, like I said, it all depends on the weather as well, if you get good decent wickets lots of runs will be scored but the bowlers will have something to say about it.
This edition of the @cricketworldcup has returned to the round robin stage format, ensuring the one and a half months long grand event will be a cracking contest.https://t.co/cus0A0rzzP#CRICKET #BANGLADESH #BANGLADESHCRICKET #BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #CRICKETWORLDCUP #WORLDCUP
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) May 29, 2019
You have been the head coach of the Khulna Titans in the BPL T20 for two years. You have obviously watched the Bangladesh cricketers from up close. How do you rate the Tigers’ chances in the World Cup?
They have got a very good chance, in the last Champions Trophy (2017) they played well here. They have been playing some good cricket. They have a senior group in the sense that they have been around for a long time, they are not afraid of these big tournaments, so as long as they have a good start in the tournament, I reckon they’ll have a very good chance.
Can the Tigers take a leaf out of Sri Lanka’s books this year, and emulate the Lankans’ famous World Cup win?
It’s entirely upto the players, how they start, the format is different, they have to play each and every team, if they make it to the semi-final they have a pretty good chance.
Who are your favorites for the tournament?
I have five or six favorites, there are some good teams, depends how they go about.
