The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala has a panoramic view unmatched to any other cricket venues in this part of the world. Hills covered by the snow on the background are bound to give everyone a heavenly feeling at the first visit of the venue. But the Bangladesh cricket team was not in a mood to enjoy this beauty on Tuesday when they first arrived here for a training session ahead of their ICC World Twenty20 qualifier against the Netherlands.
They were already feeling the pinch of a tight schedule. Condition at the northern India city on the edge of Himalayas made the preparation for the game, which is no less important than any of their recent Twenty20 internationals, even tougher.
It took them a little over two hours to travel from Dhaka to Dharamsala on Monday, yet when they arrived at the city they felt the chill immediately.
Temperature fell sharply at night and there was also some rain. For a team that just played a high intensity tournament at home it was not an easy situation to be in. A bright sunshine welcomed them in the morning bringing the smile back but they were vanished quickly once they reached the ground.
The high altitude of the venue meant a number of bowlers suffered a breathing problem. This has come as a major concern for a team that relied heavily on its pace bowlers recently.
The only relief for skipper Mashrafee bin Murtaza is the timing of their first match, which unlike their next two matches against Ireland and Oman, is a day game.
The weather forecast says it will remain sunny during the match time, meaning Bangladesh will not have to face the Dutch at least in a shivering cold.
‘It is not like other places of India,’ a visibly concerned Mashrafee told in his pre-match press conference. ‘We are already feeling the difference. There are some breathing problems. Nights are really cold, like it was yesterday. And we have to play two matches at night. It would have been better if we had gotten some time. ‘
Condition is not the only thing that gives Mashrafee some headaches. The difference in intensity between Asia Cup final and the World Twenty20 qualifying opener against Netherlands also made it tough for them.
In little over 48 hours after playing high intensity game, when they enjoyed the support of the entire gallery, Bangladesh are now pitted against a side made up of some amateur players.
‘It’s not that we don’t have any pressure for this game,’ said Mashrafee. ‘So, we must keep the intensity. We played a game even two days ago and hopefully we will carry that momentum.’
Dutch are no strangers to Bangladesh as the two teams played two one-day internationals and two Twenty20 internationals respectively. And surprisingly, irrespective of their status as an international side, the Dutch hold an equal head-to-head record against Bangladesh in both the formats.
They, however, last met an international match three years ago when Bangladesh were still ranked among the minnows by some pundits. Though Bangladesh improved considerably over the period Mashrafee felt they should have done some homework before facing the side in the World Twenty20 qualifier.
‘Frankly, we did not get any time to do the homework. Our coaching staff must have seen the video footage of their recent matches and we have to rely on that,’ he said.
-With New Age input
