Head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe admits "batting has been a concern" for Bangladesh
Aug 19, 2024
Rawalpindi [Pakistan], August 19 : Ahead of his side's two-match Test series against Pakistan, Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe accepted that there has been a concern with their batting.
The two-match Test series will kick off on August 21 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The two Tests against Bangladesh will mark the first assignment of Jason Gillespie as Pakistan's Test coach.
The second Test of the two-match series is set to be played from August 30 to September 3 in Karachi.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Hathurusinghe called the pitches in Bangladesh are "result-oriented wickets". He added that the wickets in Pakistan are favourable batting.
"Batting has been a concern for a while, but not for one reason. We play in result-oriented wickets back home. Sometimes 250 is a winning score in those pitches. Obviously when you play on these pitches, the batters have a tough time. I hope the pitches in Pakistan generally favour batting. It is a good contest between bat and ball. We will show better result on these pitches," Hathurusinghe was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.
The head coach praised his side's pacers and said that they performed well in the recently concluded T20 World Cup.
"The fast bowlers did well in the [T20] World Cup where they had favourable conditions. It hasn't happened overnight. It developed in the last two years. They have not played 20 Tests altogether, so they are young fast bowlers compared to the Pakistan attack. I am really excited to see how they continue," he added.
Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (C), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Syed Khaled Ahmed.
