Nannu looks for spirited performance in SA
New manager brushes aside rumour about Tamims plea for a break
Sports Reporter
Even though a player like Shakib Al Hasan will always be irreplaceable, Bangladesh team management pondered his temporary absence from the Test cricket will act as a motivation for the players to prop up their game.
As he always excels in both batting and bowling, selectors had to consider two players simultaneously in Mahmudullah Riyad and Taijul Islam to cover up his absence but still there is some loopholes because Shakib is also an X factor for Bangladesh cricket.
Bangladesh were repeatedly saying to reduce the burden on Shakib and this series will provide the opportunity for the team to keep up the consistency even without the ace all-rounder.
His absence will act as a motivation for the players, said chief selector Minhajul Abedin Nannu who was appointed the manager for the South Africa series after Khaled Mahmud Sujon showed his reluctance to go to the tour.
The players will be eager to show a good performance in a bid to ensure that Shakibs absence will no affect the team. If they do so, this will be good for Shakib and whole Bangladesh team.
Shakibs break from the Test cricket is believed to inspire some other players to consider a break and there is whispering that Tamim Iqbal will be the next. Nannu however trashed the rumour saying, Tamim is yet to inform them anything on this issue.
We have no idea about that. Tamim himself didnt inform anything on this. For the time being, we announced the team for Test series and then in the middle of the last Test we will announce the team for ODI.
This will be Bangladeshs first tour in South Africa in nine years and considering the pitch and condition what every sub-continent team gets tougher to deal with, Bangladeshs future appeared to be vulnerable. In their last tour Bangladesh also fared so badly that any hopes looked bleak.
This is the much more matured team than the last team which toured South Africa. This team has the experience and they have been playing good cricket consistently. Hopefully this time well come up with more spirited performance, Nannu looked optimistic.
I admit condition-wise it would be a challenging series. The pitch is fast and bouncy what we dont get more often. But if you want to be a good Test team, you have to thrive in that condition.
However the fast and bouncy wicket on the other hand gave Nannu a hope that his top order would play better in that pitch considering the bounce will be even and the ball would come to the bat easily unlike the pitch in Bangladesh in which they played against Australia.
Most of the batsmen in Bangladeshs top order are natural stroke-maker and when the bounce will be even, they would get it easier to play their shots.
