Chittagong, Nov 25: Bangladesh is putting on a brave face ahead of the two-test series against Pakistan starting on Friday in the absence of senior players such as ace allrounder Shakib Al Hasan and after recent Twenty20 failures.
Shakib has failed to recover in time from a hamstring injury during the T20 World Cup. Opener Tamim Iqbal has opted out of the series due to injury, and Mahmudullah, who hit 150 not out in Bangladesh’s last test against Zimbabwe, has retired from this format.
Captain Mominul Haque said the young players in the team are motivated to fill the seniors’ shoes. “We have to play with whatever resources we have,” Mominul said.
“There’s no point of thinking who is in the team and who is not. These seniors had a lot of contributions for Bangladesh cricket. But life goes on.” Mominul insisted they won’t carry over the baggage from their dismal T20 record. “I don’t think that (T20 record) will have a negative impact as the format is completely different. In test cricket, you have to be consistent,” he said with a straight face.
But Bangladesh’s test record this year is unconvincing. It lost two home tests against the West Indies from favorable positions. A two-test series in Sri Lanka was lost 1-0, then it beat Zimbabwe by 220 runs. (IANS)
