Bangladesh Test captain seeks positive result in Sri Lanka Tests

DHAKA: Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque on Sunday ruled out any experimenting in the forthcoming Test series in Sri Lanka as they were badly in need of some positive results.

The Tigers will leave home on Monday with an inflated squad for the two-Test series, beginning on April 21 in Pallekele.

The Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on the outskirts of hill town Kandy will also host the second Test from April 29. Both the games will be staged but without spectators.

The Bangladeshi selectors earlier this week announced a 21-member squad for the series, saying the line-up for the series will be confirmed only after a two-day warm-up match in Sri Lanka.

“One can’t experiment on a tour to Sri Lanka, particularly without results behind you. We need results, having failed in five or six Tests,” Mominul told reporters in Dhaka. “Sri Lanka are a great side at home. It will be challenging for us. It won’t be easy for us. But the situation we find ourselves, we have to take up this challenge and find a good result for the team.”

Bangladesh won just one of their last nine Tests, which included a home series against a depleted West Indies side in February.

They also lost all matches in New Zealand in March, which included three One-day Internationals and as many Twenty20 Internationals.

Mominul, who was not part of the squad for New Zealand series, urged the team to forget the result and take only the positives from the series.

“New Zealand is in the past,” he said. “But we can learn a few things from there. The pace bowlers have been doing well in the last four or five series. I am generally happy with the bowlers — pacers and spinners.”

The Bangladesh series was originally scheduled for October and November last year but was postponed due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Mominul hoped that the series will be competitive. “I think it will be a competitive series. It will be challenging. Both teams have good pace bowlers. Batting is going to be very important. We haven’t been batting up to everyone’s expectations off late,” he hoped.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2021