Quiet first day for Pybus
Richard Pybus has said that gaining the confidence of the players would be of paramount importance in his new job.
The newest coach of the Bangladesh cricket team took a look at training yesterday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in his first day in the country after being appointed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board. He will be officially presented later today, but appeared part of the group already.
The 47-year-old Englishman, who has been coaching in South Africa since his twenties and is now settled in Cape Town, was briefly introduced to the national cricketers before having an informal meeting with the national selectors.
He is taking over at a time when Bangladesh cricket is on a high after the success during the Asia Cup, so for Pybus to start from scratch with a settled group of cricketers would be a challenge. But he believes that trust is all it takes to bring out the best in players.
“I think the most important part of my job is to gain trust, the players and I have to trust each other,” he said.
“Even before we get into the cricket, I have to understand every player and what he’s all about and gain his trust.
“It is very important that we can trust each other and that will help us to work well,” he added.
Among other issues, Pybus would have to make new plans for his batsmen after the ICC’s cricket committee recommended the number of bouncers permitted in an ODI over be increased to two. Since it is too early for him to make a comment on any cricketing matters, Pybus shared some of his philosophy on different styles of batting.
“Every individual has a different style. Someone can be orthodox and even then can be successful,” he said.
Among the few members of the Zimbabwe-bound team who were at the indoor facilities during training yesterday, only Junaed Siddiqui batted in the nets while the rest were bowlers like Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shafiul Islam, Abdur Razzak, etc.
“After working with a coach for a long time we can understand what is going on in his mind. Naturally every batsman has his individual style and wants to continue with that,” said Junaed.
“We are professional cricketers so no matter who comes in as a coach we have to play well. Coach is certainly a factor but we have to adjust to different conditions.
“Today is the first time I’m batting in the nets. I didn’t have the chance to talk a lot with him but from what I’ve seen he looks to be positive,” he added.
-With The Daily Star input
