For the past few months, Bangladesh has been giving the message of playing a different type of cricket, especially in white ball cricket. The impression of aggressive batting is also seen in ODIs.
Bangladesh's innings has exceeded three hundred in all three ODI series against Ireland. Ever since Chandika Hathurusinghe returned as the head coach, positivity has spread all around. The Bangladesh team's next mission is a three-match ODI series against Ireland in England. For this reason, Bangladesh made a three-day camp in Sylhet. Coming to the last day on Saturday, Hathurusinghe said that their aim is to play aggressive cricket.
"Our approach will always be to play positive aggressive cricket," he said in the press conference. This does not mean that the ball should be kicked out of the stadium. I always say this to cricketers too. Aggressive cricket means doing whatever you do with positive aggressive intent. Also being aggressive in decision making, be it team selection or field placement or what kind of bowling will be done. We go to give the boys this freedom, so that they can go out on the field and prove themselves.
The Bangladesh team practiced by creating match conditions in Sylhet's camp. Hathurusinghe also told the reason for this. The Lankan coach says that such practice is done so that the cricketers do not get stuck in the match.
"If you are an opener, you have to bat first ten overs," he said. How we want to bat ten overs, how to use field restrictions. If you come in the middle order, the situation is different, like sometimes four men out or sometimes five men. It matters how you want to start. If you don't practice like that, you will get stuck on the wicket. Which we don't want. We want them to have a clear head about how they will play in any situation.
ODI captain Tamim Iqbal's form with the bat is not going very well. The last half-century came seven innings ago. He scored a fifty against Zimbabwe in Harare last year. What Hathurusinghe thinks about Tamim's form? That's why the camp in Sylhet extra attention to him?
Hathuru said, 'I have not done anything extra with anyone. I was just standing in between making sure the session ended well and the intensity didn't drop. I am not worried about anyone in particular. The whole team is thinking about how we can do better. He (Tamim) is batting very well. I am very happy with the batting in this camp. '
