Bangladesh assistant and spin coach Ruwan Kalpage compared Taijul Islam and Jubair Hossain with Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and believes the youngsters have the potential to take Bangladesh to greater heights in Test cricket.
“Coming from Sri Lanka and seeing Rangana, I know for sure, Taijul and Likhon (Jubair) can take Bangladesh to the next level,” said Kalpage while talking to the media at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.
The 44-year-old from Kandy thinks ace all-rounder Shakib al Hasan has a very positive impact on the rookies in the team while he also shed light on how the spinners are benefitted from the SG cricket ball which is now used in Tests.
He hailed Shakib’s performance on his return to the international arena following a disciplinary ban and said, “Yes I am very happy (to win the Test), especially Shakib played after a long time and got a six for he got his confidence back, also Likhon and Taijul getting eight wickets and winning the match for Bangladesh.”
“Taijul bowled a very good line which created a lot of pressure on the batsman. I think we played with Kookaburra balls earlier and now we moved to SG, that helps spinners as well and that is one area we are looking forward to. We also have the top all-rounder as well in Shakib al Hasan which gives us an extra option.”
Kalpage, former spin consultant of the Sri Lanka team, had a bitter start to his tenure with the Tigers in West Indies where Bangladesh lost all matches in the Test and ODI series while the only Twenty20 was washed away.
But Kalpage, a right-arm spinner in his playing days, said he shared his experience with the players while the team management also worked intensively with the cricketers in order to restore their confidence.
“As past cricketer, I needed to share my knowledge, work with them, give them confidence,” he said. “We had certain plans for the batsmen. I think that helped them and also we can’t forget our domestic coaches, so experience matters definitely.”
“I know I shouldn’t tell myself, you should ask the players. Definitely working with me they can get the experience I shared with Rangana and all. You have to execute yourself on the ground whatever the planning is,” he added.
Kalpage knows Zimbabwe will come hard in the second Test in Khulna starting from November 3 but also insisted are well prepared to face the challenge.
