New Bangladesh coach Stuart Law began his work with the Tigers on Sunday at the Sher-e Bangla National Stadium without skipper Sakib al Hasan and his deputy Tamim Iqbal.
Tamim was given a week’s rest to nurse his groin injury, but the absence of Sakib came as a mystery as he did not inform the team management anything officially.
Sakib and Tamim arrived from England on Sunday and were enjoying a break since. Tamim reported to the team management on Wednesday, but officials had no information about Sakib’s whereabouts.
When asked if he had taken any leave, cricket operations chief Enayet Hossain Siraj said only team manager Tanjeeb Ahsan Saad can tell about this.
But Saad said he has no information about Sakib.
Sakib remained out of touch after he slammed the selectors on Tuesday for not informing about team selection before it was announced.
Law, who is yet to meet the skipper, was also frustrated.
‘I would have been quite happy if all the guys were here,’ Law told reporters. ‘It is always nice to have the squad together.
‘Tamim has a slight groin problem at the moment so he probably would not have taken part in fielding ,warm-up or the gym session but the other one is not here for personal reasons,’ he said.
Apart from the absence of Sakib, who is also key player of the side, Law said his first day’s experience was pretty good.
‘My first experience was very good. We got to learn and know the players and what they are about. I just saw a little bit of their technique but most importantly [it was] a bit of interaction with them which is very important,’ said Law.
Law found the Tigers as a good fielding unit after a quick look at them with fielding coach Jason Swift in the morning and felt it can be improved if the players return to their full fitness.
‘We have only seen then fielding today and they are all in pretty good standard. The guys who obviously have shoulder injuries or problems they will struggle a bit until they sorted them out. But on a whole I am impressed,’ said Law.
‘I didn’t have many messages for them. My philosophy is if you are not having fun you are not going to do it well.
‘I like to do a lot of fun things, keep the intensity going with a bit of competition within the group and create an atmosphere which hopefully they can replicate in a game situation,’ he said.
Mohammad Ashraful, one of the most senior cricketers in the current squad, who had the experience of working with Trevor Chappell, Mohsin Kamal, Dav Whatmore and Jamie Siddons, found Law to be a very positive coach and felt that he will be able to bring the best out of the team.
‘He is very positive unlike former coach Jamie Siddons who was a bit negative in the beginning,’Ashraful told reporters.
-With New Age input
