Mominul wants Bangladesh to guard against complacency
Bangladesh Test skipper Mominul Haque has cautioned his team mates not take to West Indies lightly ahead of their forthcoming Test series in the light of their recent defeats by England and New Zealand. West Indies are due to arrive on January 10 to play three one-day Internationals followed by a two-match Test series as part of the ICC Test Championship, reports Cricbuzz.
Where Jason Holder’s side went down 2-1 to England when cricket resumed after the Coronavirus break, they succumbed to two innings defeats on their recent visit to New Zealand.
“It is not a fact that as they have lost successive Test series, they will lose here [too] and if you want to beat them you have try your level best because they will come here to prove a point,” Mominul told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Tuesday (December 22).
“The only thing is that they are little bit disappointed but it can happen that they might take extra pressure (to do well here) so we cannot leave an inch while playing against them,” he said.
Mominul contested that West Indies’ experience of playing cricket while being in a bio-secure bubble will give them an edge in the series. The Bangladesh captain also chose to deflect any pressure of the Test Championship from his team, currently placed bottom of the standings, choosing instead to look at the series as an opportunity to get back to international cricket.
“Look we don’t have the experience of playing international cricket in the bio-bubble environment and I can only explain it after playing this series. So in that sense they are better prepared but at the same time staying in the bio-bubble for long time can be extremely daunting.
“[For us] when we are going to play Test cricket we can’t play thinking that it is Test Championships. “This is the first game (international) starting in Bangladesh after Corona and whoever gets the opportunity will try to give 100 percent. If we think it like this than we will be able to complete the Test series well.
“But if we think of Test Championship than the pressure will come and your (media) expectations will also be there as well with many negative things coming around. Instead of thinking about it [Test Championship] you just have to think about the opportunity to play well,” he said.
Mominul, who is undergoing physiotherapy for a thumb injury, said he is confident that he would recover before the Test series. Mominul fractured his right thumb while fielding for his team Gazi Group Chattogram in the just concluded Bangabandhu T20 Cup while playing against Gemcon Khulna on November 28. He underwent an operation in Dubai at the Burjeel Speciality Hospital is currently on his rehabilitation program.
“I am doing rehabilitation now and I am hopeful that I will be available before the practice game ahead of the West Indies series.”
The first ODIs of the series will be played in Dhaka on January 20 and 22, with the final game three days later in Chattogram. Teams will remain in Chattogram for thefirst Test (February 3-7) before returning to Dhaka for the second Test beginning February 11.