DHAKA – Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo insisted on domestic cricket, which he believes would make the transition to International cricket easier for the Tigers.
“Going from friendly to international cricket is a big step up. So it is important that we play domestic cricket, which makes the transition easier,” he said here while addressing the media through a virtual press conference on Friday.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) emphasized on domestic cricket once the tour to Sri Lanka was postponed for indefinite time over the quarantine period issue between the two boards.
The players are currently playing an intrasquad game to have a match practice after which the cricket apex board would try to arrange a domestic league.
“It will benefit the national side immensely. The BCB are trying to get domestic cricket going in the next couple of weeks, and that’ll be great for the guys. I’d love to see the guys in the HP unit too who are pushing for national honours,” Domingo remarked.
The postponement of the Sri Lanka series means Bangladesh has been without any International cricket since March, which is hard to accept for the players. Domingo knows that without International cricket, it is tough to motivate the players. He therefore emphasized on being innovative in practice sessions.
“I think there’s always going to be that challenge. That’s why we have to be innovative with our training. We have a big group of guys at the moment. We are trying to have some games, because if we do the same thing over and over without any particular goal, it is going to be very challenging,” he said.
“It does allow us to work on the players’ skills. We can maybe make one or two technical changes or discuss things with guys that we won’t always have the time when leading into games. There’s a benefit of not having a game coming up in a week or two. We can actually make an impact on the players’ technique. Still, we always like to train with some sort of end goal in mind.”
He also said the Bangladesh players should remember that the COVID-19 forced players all around the world to lose cricket almost for a year.
“They are not the only ones. There’s a whole host of players that are losing a year from their career. There are young players who are trying to make a career, so it is just as difficult for some of them. It is disappointing for everybody. Sometimes losing 7-8 months can prolong your career in the future; maybe mentally and physically then you may not be as fatigued. You can maybe stay an extra year or two in the system. I am trying to look at the positive side of things,” he concluded.BSS
