As the Bangladesh cricket team is set to embark on another T20 World Cup journey to the USA, Head Coach Chandika Hathurusingha stresses the importance of quick adaptation to unfamiliar conditions and tempers expectations. In their quest for glory, as the head coach believes, Bangladesh may face daunting tasks.
Hathurusingha and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto appeared in a press conference on Wednesday in Mirpur, and shared their thoughts about the T20 World Cup, which is taking place in the USA for the first time, along with the West Indies.
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“Playing in the USA is very new for everybody,” Hathurusingha admitted to the reporters. “So, getting information about the condition, getting used to the climate and the different time zones, things like that. It's more important for us in training as well as matches.”
With no prior experience playing at the venues where the Tigers will have to play the World Cup in the USA, the team will be relying on pre-tournament preparation and quick acclimatisation to gain a foothold in the competition.
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Bangladesh’s journey begins with a three-match T20I series against the hosts, the USA, followed by two practice matches against India in New York on June 1st, and a possible second practice match on May 28th.
The real test begins on June 8th in Dallas, where Bangladesh faces off against Sri Lanka in their opening group stage encounter.
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A stern test awaits them in their second match as they take on tournament favourites South Africa on June 10th in New York. The Tigers then travel to the West Indies to face the Netherlands and Nepal in their final group stage matches on June 13th and 17th, respectively.
“Probably try a few combinations that we still think we want to try. But then, when I say try, we have to give rest to the key players as well,” Hathurusingha outlined their strategy for the warm-up matches. “So, we keep in mind that workload as well as keeping them fresh physically and mentally.”
Bangladesh enters the tournament with high expectations, a testament to their recent performances outside of ICC events. Hathurusingha acknowledged the hopes of the nation.
“I understand we as a country now have high aspirations because we have been playing good cricket generally out of ICC events,” Hathurusingha said. “It's the same. We have high expectations as players and staff, as well as the fans and the country.”
However, the coach remained pragmatic about the challenges ahead, particularly the daunting group stage.
“The first step is to get through this difficult group stage. We are in a very strong group,” he said. “Then we take, if we get through that one, that's the main target, the first one, and then we'll take it from there.