Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha asserted that having some similarities of a few wickets at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium to England he opted for the training camp for the Tigers at the venue ahead of the approaching one-day international series against Ireland.
The Bangladesh national cricket team will undergo a three-day long preparation camp at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium today until April 30 as a part of their build-up ahead of the three one-day internationals starting on May 9 in Chelmsford, the United Kingdom.
‘When we play in Sylhet, some of the pitches over there are closest to what we might expect in England. It is also very hot here. There are a lot of matches being played here. We can’t get the wicket that I want here,’ said Hathurusingha in Mirpur following a short meeting with the selection panel.
For the past decade or more, Bangladesh has been spotted preparing spinning tracks during any bilateral series that has termed them a spin-based nation.
However, the notion has changed drastically following the appointment of their returning coach, Chandika Hathurusingha, for his second spell with the Tigers.
With the forthcoming ICC World Cup in India in this year’s October and November in mind, the Bangladesh management prepared sporting wickets against the touring England and Ireland.
Although the home side suffered successive two defeats against the world champions at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in the initial two ODIs, they could turn the tables and seal the third and final T20I at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram, to reduce the series difference by 2-1.
Afterwards, they clinched the three Twenty20 internationals by 3-0 for the first time against the reigning titlists.
The hosts continued the same dominance in the next series against the visiting Irish that guided them to earn a bunch of records both in the ODIs and T20Is.
The veteran Sri Lankan coach claimed that they didn’t prepare the wickets just with the approaching series against Ireland in England in mind but also for the upcoming global, regional, and bilateral events as well.
‘It is not just about English conditions. It is about the overall development of our game. We are not worried about opposition or results.’
‘We want to improve our game overall wherever we play in the future. We have lots of Test cricket coming up next year. We play away from home as well. Just to improve our cricket.’
The ODIs, which are part of the ICC World Super League, are scheduled for May 9, 12, and 14 at the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford.
After the conclusion of the training camp at the SICS, Tamim Iqbal led Bangladesh will leave Dhaka for the UK on May 1.
