Bangladesh will send its national cricket team to the Asian Games in Japan later this month, with head coach Mohammad Salahuddin explaining why the Tigers were chosen instead of the HP squad.
Bangladesh had initially planned to send the HP team for the tournament. That changed after the coaching staff saw that several other countries were preparing to send their full national sides.
“Initially, we were supposed to send the HP team. But when we saw other countries were sending their full national teams, we thought, why shouldn’t we?” Salahuddin said at a press conference in Mirpur.
The coach believes Bangladesh have a strong chance of reaching the final if they perform well, although he expects the tournament to provide a serious test.
“I think it will be a challenging tournament. Looking at our schedule, I think we have a very good opportunity to reach the final if we play well,” he said.
The biggest concern could be the team’s adjustment to T20 cricket. Bangladesh have focused on Tests and ODIs in recent months and have not played the shortest format for several months.
“We haven’t played T20s in the last few series. We will have to adapt as quickly as possible. The biggest challenge for the players is how quickly we can regain the rhythm we had in T20s three or four months ago,” Salahuddin said.
There has also been discussion over the playing conditions in Japan, with Gamini de Silva preparing the Asian Games pitches. Salahuddin believes the surface will depend largely on the weather rather than blaming the curator.
“The weather will determine what the wicket will be like. There is no point blaming Gamini. We could have prepared a similar wicket ourselves because it is completely new,” he said.
Accommodation has also attracted attention because there will be no traditional athletes’ village. Players will use hotels, a cruise ship and temporary accommodation. Salahuddin, however, is focused on performance.
“We are going there to represent our country. The main thing for us is the game. We will play well,” he said.
Led by Litton Das, Bangladesh named a strong 15-man squad on September 2. The team also includes Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Towhid Hridoy, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam.
Bangladesh will begin their Asian Games campaign on September 29, with their quarter-final opponent to be confirmed after the group-stage matches.
