Bangladesh ended 2025 on a high, winning a T20I series against Ireland 2-1. Their next international assignment is the ICC T20 World Cup in February 2026, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Before that, the Bangladesh Premier League will get underway on December 26.
During this downtime, Bangladesh’s batters are not remaining idle. A special batting camp began on Saturday at the National Cricket Academy ground and will continue until December 13. Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, and Nurul Hasan Sohan took part in a four-hour session under the supervision of Head Coach Phil Simmons. Senior Assistant Coach Mohammad Salahuddin and Batting Coach Mohammad Ashraful were also present.
After the session, Salahuddin spoke to the media about the camp, explaining that the primary focus is on developing the batters’ specific skills.
“Honestly, there is no end to improvement. You often point out that we have skill gaps, but we rarely get the time to address them,” Salahuddin said. “The international schedule is so demanding that the boys are constantly playing. As a result, we do not get the opportunity to work on improvement.”
He added that the camp is aimed at sharpening the batters’ skills, particularly in T20s, where even well-played shots sometimes end up going straight to the fielders. “We are working on how to hit into gaps, how to use the ball, how to use the pace, and how to develop ourselves to take boundaries with lower risk while improving our singles game,” Salahuddin explained.
During the session, the batters were seen interacting with one another, which Salahuddin said is actively encouraged. He elaborated that players are urged to speak up in team meetings, participate in discussions, and even lead the meetings themselves.
“They make the decisions because they are the ones who play. The more they take the lead, the more mature they become, and the better their game sense develops,” Salahuddin said.
He emphasized that learning to give feedback to one another and discuss strategies is crucial, as coaches cannot always be present on the field.
“This is also a way for them to learn to coach themselves. A coach cannot always be there, so if they become their own best coaches, they will play even better cricket,” he concluded.
Bangladesh had their best year in T20s in 2025. The team won a record 15 matches in a single year and scored more runs than ever before, accumulating 4,239 runs in 30 matches. They hit 23 fifties, a record 206 sixes, and took 188 wickets.
When asked about the year’s overall evaluation, Salahuddin focused on the T20 performances. “In T20s, our progress is close to where we want it. While we have not achieved major success yet, the results so far have come from regular series and following our World Cup plan. The batters now understand their roles, and if they continue working on them over the next two months, I believe the T20 team will be in a strong position.”
