Like Mashrafe Bin Mortaza who spoke on the subject the other day, chief selector Akram Khan also thinks that the current team is Bangladesh’s best T20 side. Most importantly, the former Bangladesh skipper believes that this team has started to figure out the nuances of cricket’s newest format. “It was not long ago that the format was totally a riddle for the Bangladeshi players but the scenario has changed recently as our players got the chance to play a number of matches courtesy of the BPL and the few tours they went on over the last three months,” said Akram who is travelling with the team in Sri Lanka.
“I must say this team is the best one because it has got the balance to do well in the World Cup. Not only as a team but also preparation-wise, we are now in a good shape and I am very much hopeful about this team,” added the chief of the three-member selection panel.
“Our top order is getting runs and we have players like Mashrafe (Bin Mortaza) and Nasir Hossain who have the ability to contribute with the bat besides their bowling. There were some problems with the middle-order in the two warm-up games but I think it will be okay when we play the group matches,” hoped Akram.
Akram however firmly believed that there is no scope for the young players to improve their skill by playing only T20 cricket; rather they have to make sure that they come into the team after preparing themselves.
“We are also going through a learning curve and what we understand is that one should prepare oneself before entering the shortest format of the game and the best possible way to prepare is by playing more longer-version and one-day cricket because there is no chance to improve their skill by playing T20 matches,” opined Akram.
He also said that at this point in time they have no scope to think about a separate T20 team.
“We have very little options to make different teams for different versions, so we have to stick to a group of players and make sure they are good in all three formats, but things may change in future if the options wide open,” said Akram.
-With The Daily Star input
