Focus shifts to T20 WC preparations

With the ICC Twenty20 World Cup just two months away, the Bangladesh players will now shift their focus on the forthcoming mega event in the West Indies and the USA, leaving the questions raised about their Test credential following the recent thumping at the hands of Sri Lanka at home unanswered.

The Tigers lost the two-Test series against Sri Lanka 2-0, where their batters showed little to no resolve against the Lankan attack.

After the defeat, skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque pointed fingers at the country's domestic first-class cricket, which according to them was not preparing players for the challenges of Test cricket.

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Tigers still await better Test preparations

However, with the T20 World Cup set to begin in June, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has no choice but to focus on the shortest format.

However, BCB cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus assured that the fiasco in the Test series won't get swept under the rug.

"We will not forget what has happened in the Test series. We will look to arrange red-ball cricket in the June-July window. The A team will play red-ball cricket against New Zealand and Pakistan at home before touring Pakistan," Jalal told The Daily Star yesterday.

The ongoing Dhaka Premier League (DPL) and the upcoming five-match T20Is against Zimbabwe at home offer the Tigers the chance to get themselves up and running before they travel to the USA for a three-match T20I series against the hosts.

The BCB won't be staging a training camp for the Tigers owing to a time crunch as they hope that the nine T20s – eight internationals and a World Cup practice match – will give the team enough preparation leading up to their World Cup opener against Sri Lanka on June 8 in Texas, USA.

"We will have a total of nine matches to prepare ourselves for the World Cup. There is little time for practice camps and believe that these matches will suffice in terms of preparing ourselves," said Jalal.

The league-stage of the DPL will resume on April 15 after the Eid holidays and will run till April 19. The Super League stage is likely to begin on April 22 and Zimbabwe are set to arrive on April 28. The Bangladesh coaching staff is set to return to the country in the third week of April after which the squad for the Zimbabwe series will be announced.

Amongst the expected faces in the squad, opener Soumya Sarker remains a doubt as the 31-year-old has been on the sidelines since suffering a knee- injury in the third ODI against the Lankans last month.

"Soumya will not feature in the DPL. We can hope that he will return at some point in the Zimbabwe series," a member of BCB's medical team told The Daily Star yesterday.

Most of the players in the 30-member pool who have applied for a visa for the World Cup, which also includes Soumya, are taking part in the DPL.

Bangladesh skipper Shanto and pacer Shoriful Islam – who was rested in the second Test against the Lankans – played for reigning champions Abahani yesterday.

Pacer Taskin Ahmed, who wasn't allowed to be in consideration for the Indian Premier League and had opted out of Tests due to workload management ahead of the World Cup, has played five 50-over matches for the Sky Blues.

Out-of-form batter Liton Das played one match in the tournament for Abahani after being dropped from the ODI squad but has told the side that he will join after Eid. Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club's star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who took leave to perform Umrah Hajj, will do the same.