Domingo welcomes BCB move to reschedule SL tour

Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo welcomed the move taken by BCB of skipping the Sri Lanka tour comprised with three Tests citing their inability to abide 14-day quarantine as it would have been mentally draining for his charges.

BCB opted not to travel to Sri Lanka after the host insisted on a 14-day mandatory quarantine that too with movement limited to their hotel room “Obviously I am very disappointed that the Sri Lanka tour is not taking place. 

I think the BCB were correct in refraining from going under the stipulations that were placed upon the team. It would have been very difficult for us to spend that amount of time locked up in our room without preparation and played a Test match in ten days’ time. I am fully supporting the decision,’’ Domingo told reporters in a zoom meeting on Friday.

“Couple of our players have been in isolation for five or six days. They said it was extremely difficult, in terms of mental aspect. Forget about the physical side. For me personally to spend 14 days locked up in a small hotel room for 14 days would be very challenging. I suppose there were some discussions among some players but ultimately it’s a decision the board made. 

As disappointed as they were to not play the series, the players appreciate the board’s decision. They also understand that the mental issues of being in a locked up, enclosed area for 14 days could pose some serious challenges. Some guys may be able to deal with it but one or two struggling with it, is an issue. Everybody’s feeling has to be considered when making these decisions, and the board made the right decision,’’ he said. 

The national team players had started individual sessions in BCB facilities across the country with the Sri Lanka tour in mind. With the tour now scrapped, there is no set target to prepare for. Domingo reiterated that it would be frustrating to come in and work every day without realistic goals but opined that now the staff have a real opportunity to make changes to a player’s game which cannot always be achieved during a normal calendar year with busy scheduling and the gruelling grind of matches coming thick and fast.

“If you do the same thing over and over without any particular goal in mind, then it’s going to be very challenging. But it does allow us to really work on players’ skills at the moment where you can maybe make one or two technical changes or discuss things with guys that you maybe haven’t done with games coming up. 

So there is the benefit of not having the pressure of games coming up in a week or two where you don’t want to make too many changes. You can actually make changes to a player’s technique now. The energy in the training sessions have been impeccable. They want to play and there is no doubt about that,” Domingo said when asked about how to keep the players inspired during a long absence from international cricket.