I have only seen the T20 team today, it is just the start of a journey to the 2024 World Cup – Chandika Hathurusingha

The upcoming T20I series against England will begin a new journey for Bangladesh in the format as they prepare for the T20 World Cup, according to head coach Chandika Hathurusingha while Hathurusingha made his comeback to the Bangladesh team during the ODI series against England.

The upcoming T20I series against England will begin a new journey for Bangladesh in the format as they prepare for the T20 World Cup, according to head coach Chandika Hathurusingha. 

Hathurusingha made his comeback to the Bangladesh team during the ODI series against England, which the visitors won 2-1. He had been away for more than five years. There are not too many familiar faces in the current Bangladesh T20I side for the Sri Lankan, who is analyzing the series to determine the player’s strengths and areas for development.

“I have only seen the T20 team today. It is just the start of a journey to the 2024 World Cup. A lot of water will go under the bridge between now and then. This is again an observation to see what we have. Then what areas the players can improve, and play to our strength,”

Hathurusingha told reporters ahead at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Wednesday (March 8).

“I don’t think it is difficult (to play against the World Champions). It is an opportunity for us to prepare for the World Cup. We need to think about the conditions of where it will take place. This one is in West Indies and the USA, so we have a little more information. We have toured West Indies more than the other teams. So preparing with that in the mind, try to get the right combinations. There’s an opportunity for a lot of players,”

he said.

Hathurusingha expressed his appreciation for the pace bowlers after reviewing the three ODIs played against England, especially the discipline shown by Taskin Ahmed and Ebadat Hossain on pitches that weren’t of much help for the quick bowlers. 

He said that Bangladesh needed to enhance their batting and added that they “out-fielded England” but he also acknowledged that there was still room for improvement.

“It is a good start. I was impressed with certain areas. The fast bowlers did well in not-so-helpful conditions. Their discipline and understanding of the game, especially Taskin and Ebadot stood out. I was happy with the fielding effort. I think we out-fielded England. I have observed a few things that we can get better at in batting.

“We have room for improvement in fielding. I challenged them in fielding. They showed me some good signs. I have very high expectations. We have to be the best fielding side in Asia,”

he said.

“We can’t compare with others, but we know where we need to get to. Young legs on the field help to field as they are faster, energetic. [Towhid] Hridoy is one of the exciting fielders.”

Bangladesh added three uncapped players – Hridoy, Rejaur Rahman Raja, and Tanvir Islam to their 15-member squad for the first two T20Is. Apart from the trio, opening batter Rony Talukdar got back to the national squad after a gap of eight years while Shamim Hossain also returned to the side for the first time since 2021.

Hathurusingha said he would like to see the cricketers express themselves as they did in the Bangladesh Premier League.

“I look forward to seeing them in match situations. I am impressed with what I have seen in the nets. I have seen Rony before. I remember he played one game against South Africa. I can’t remember if he got injured or if some other people started doing well. I am very interested to see what he can do. They have done well in domestic cricket so it is an opportunity for them to put their hands up.

“I think they will get a lot of opportunities to show what they can do. My message to them today was to do what they normally do, on the international stage. I am very open to seeing what we can do. I expect players to do the same thing that got them selected. So go and show at the international level against the world champions, for them to understand where they are at, and for us to understand whether we are better than them in our conditions or they are better than us. Good opportunity for us to see our skill set in T20s,”

said Hathurusingha.