DHAKA, Feb 21, 2020 (BSS) – As Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon wants more clarity from the team, head coach Russell Domingo prefers to be the bridge between the BCB chief and the players to maintain the things without any complication.
The BCB boss has recently gave the team management strict instructions to tell him everything about team affairs as the team performance went downhill after the World Cup.
Papon said that he wants to interfere in team’s matter again in a bid to bring the side back on the track since it is his responsibility as the board president.
Papon made it clear that the team management must inform him of their intentions and game plans, including the exact batting line-up the day before. They cannot change their plans once he is informed, he said.
“My idea of the president is that he is very passionate about the team. I have not spoken to him yet. We had good practice sessions in the last week,” Domingo said here on Friday.
“I haven’t officially been told that I need to tell anybody what’s happening with the team. Like I said, the president is very passionate and so am I. I want the team to do well and they are paying me a salary to make some decisions and do some work and that’s what I am here to do.”
He continued: “I come from South Africa, not England or Australia. Selection is not easy there and there are people with a lot of opinion, a lot of agendas. It’s part of my job and I just have to deal with it. Important thing for me is that I keep the players and the captains away from it. I’ve got to be the guy who acts as the in-between.”
Unlike the previous occasion in home Test, in which they are used to field just one pace, Domingo said that they will continue with two seamers.
He added that he felt there was a bit of movement during early morning training sessions in Mirpur in the last few days.
“We will probably go with two seamers. I don’t think it benefits our team playing just one seamer. Three seamers would have been perfect if we had a guy who could bat at No 7. Until [Mohammad] Saifuddin is fit or we find the guy who can bat at No. 7 and bowl 10 or 15 overs a day first, we will probably go with two seamers,” he said.
“There was a little bit of moisture in the nets around 10am this morning. There’s little bit of winter still around so the first 10 to 12 overs tomorrow could still be tricky. If we end up bowling first tomorrow, seamers have to be on the money. We need two seamers to exploit if there is anything on the wicket,” he concluded.