Rangana Herath, the spin bowling coach for Bangladesh, stated on Monday that they will not limit their players from giving their all on the infamous outfield at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala as they get ready to play England on October 10.
Jos Buttler, the captain of England, expressed his displeasure with the outfield and insisted that it is “poor.” He further stated that it is not ideal for players to have to hold themselves back while playing in a World Cup game.
However, after the match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan on October 7, Herath decided not to pay too much attention to the outfield, which was given an average rating by the ICC. Instead, he insisted that he is content with the options that are present.
“ICC has worked very hard on that, in my opinion. As a result, I believe they believe they have the right to play an international game one day because of the standards they have upheld. So in that case, I’m satisfied with it,” Herath told reporters on Monday before their match in Dharamsala.
“Obviously not from the beginning (I have seen this kind of outfield), sometimes after rain and all so you can get this kind of a field because unless you get a proper 100% in that case as I said earlier – if you get a field like international standard, so why are we going to complain about it? I can’t think at that level, so I can’t. So long as it is good for playing international cricket, I’m happy with the decision, he continued, before stating that he would like his team to give their all when fielding.
“No, we won’t restrict anything; if you ask someone to restrict something, they won’t give you their full effort. Since they performed admirably in the preceding game, we are requesting that they do the same in the outfield, he said.
Herath continued, “If we feel it’s necessary after seeing the wicket, we’re ready to break our winning combination and bring a sixth bowling option.”
Mahmudullah served as Bangladesh’s sixth bowler during their match against Afghanistan. However, sources claim that the team management is debating whether to stick with this strategy or choose a more suitable bowling option in light of England’s potent batting lineup.
Furthermore, Shakib Al Hasan and Mehedy Hasan each took six wickets in the most recent game for Bangladesh, which encouraged the team management to consider including another slow bowler in their starting XI. Which means Nasum Ahmed or Shaikh Mahedi will have a spot. Mahmudullah or a pacer can then make room for the new inclusion.
“Obviously (I feel we can have sixth bowling option) because we are playing on a different surface, so in that case we need to see the surface first, then we can decide.”
“It depends on the conditions, and I’m sure selectors and the coach and captain will have a proper discussion and decide tomorrow,” he said, adding that he was impressed with the slow bowlers’ performance in the most recent match against Afghanistan.
“To be honest, Shakib and Mehedy against Afghanistan were perfect because they understood the pitch well. They therefore determined which line and length they would need to bowl on. They also had a very aggressive field configuration. So in that case, I’m completely satisfied with how they bowled,” he said.