The media was eager to hear from Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha regarding his views on the 15-man World Cup squad and by the look of things, the Sri Lankan is satisfied with what he has at his disposal. However, the former Lankan cricketer wanted rookie leg-spinner Jubair Hossain who he believes would have caused trouble for the opponents in Australia-New Zealand.
In a press conference in Mirpur yesterday, Hathurusingha spoke about the sort of challenges they are going to face. He also informed of their primary aim which is to reach the second round of the mega event starting from February 14.
“As a coach you don’t get all the players you want, generally there’s a discussion and you are happy if you have at least 12 or 13 players that you want and then you can formulate a game plan. There are different opinions of players but we have got a really good mix,” said Hathurusingha.
“I would [have] loved to have Jubair in the team because leg-spinners in Australia are very, very effective. My experience [in the] last four years in Australia [shows that] every state team tries to get a leg-spinner in the team because they are wicket-takers. Yeah, it’s true that I was asking for him and he was in our plans as an attacking option to get wickets but that’s where it is, he is not in but we will try to do what we can with the players we have,” he said before adding, “Since Shakib [al Hasan] is there having two more left-armers it’s very unlikely to play all three in one team. It’s a tough decision but I would have loved to have a different option.
“I mean as a coach you have the plans with the other coaches, senior players and captains, [in] most of the cases the selectors communicate with the coaching staff and have a discussion. In that sense if you have a say in selection it would be helpful, but then again it’s the communication that you need.”
The coach also termed the surprise package in the team, Soumya Sarkar as a batsman-allrounder and said, “He has been in runs so we are definitely looking at his batting first and then if he can contribute with the ball that is a bonus.”
His major focus is on the two weeks in Brisbane as he believes that is when they should concentrate hard and try to adjust with the conditions before the tournament begins although he was realistic saying, “I would love to say we can go all the way but the reality is that we need to first think about getting into the second round. That’s the whole idea we are working towards.”
Hathurusingha believes that they have the potential to beat the big names in the event. But for that to happen, the pacemen will have to play a key role behind any success they achieve. Even though everyone is expecting wins against Afghanistan and Scotland, the coach thinks otherwise.
“Any team can’t be taken lightly in a World Cup because we all play in different conditions. Afghanistan is no different and Scotland we are playing in Nelson, those conditions are alien to us as well. It’s going to be a challenge [in] every game.”
The 46-year-old termed veteran left-armer Abdur Razzak “unfortunate” and said the bowler has been “a big servant for Bangladesh cricket.”
Hathurusingha concluded by saying, “The World Cup is a challenge for any team and for Bangladesh it’s no different, we have to go and play to our potential. I want my team to play to their potential and if we do well, the day someone has a really good game and the opposition has an ordinary day we can win games.”
