Coach Simmons sees potential despite lack of preparation

After the fall of Awami League government, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) came under the leadership of Faruq Ahmed and Nazmul Abedin Fahim. Their board dismissed Sri Lankan coach Chandika Hathurusingha and replaced Caribbean coach Phil Simmons in his place. His contract as the coach of Bangladesh national team is until the upcoming Champions Trophy.

The Bangladesh cricket team's training camp is currently underway in Mirpur under Simmons. Simmons faced the media on the second day of the training on Monday (February 10). The Caribbean coach spoke about Bangladesh's potential and goals in the Champions Trophy. Despite admitting that Bangladesh has not been able to prepare well for the Champions Trophy, Simmons sees enough potential for Bangladesh in the tournament.

India, England, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are playing ODI series to prepare for the Champions Trophy, but Bangladesh does not have such opportunity. The team of Nazmul Hossain Shanto will take part in the Champions Trophy directly after the 11th BPL.

The cricketers in the Champions Trophy team played T20 format cricket in the BPL, but the format will change as Bangladesh will have to play in 50-over cricket in the Champions Trophy. Therefore, the cricketers are lacking in preparation. However, Coach Simmons believes that Bangladesh will do well in the Champions Trophy if the players can change their mentality to play ODI cricket.

Bangladesh's first match in the Champions Trophy will be against India on February 20. This match will be played in Dubai. Bangladesh wants to start the tournament well by playing well against India. Simmons said, "Our first preparation is over the Dubai. We need to get a good start in Dubai match. The conditions there are very similar to Bangladesh. The training camp started two days ago. I haven't seen anyone who feels tired because of the BPL. Players need to get time. Batting for a long time and bowling in the right place are very important in 50-over cricket."

Bangladesh will try to play their best in the Champions Trophy, although they did not do well in the ODI series in the last West Indies tour. However, experienced coach Simmons sees good prospects for Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy.

He said, "We want to play our best with the best preparation in any tournament. That's what I want to do every time. Although the ODI series in West Indies was not good, we did well in the end. I think we have a very good chance if we can give our best."

Simmons believes that there is no problem for now because ODIs are played with white ball like T20s. He said, "I agree that this is not the best preparation (five-day camp). But I can say one thing, they are sharp in terms of skills. Our mentality will be 50-over cricket. The cricketers have the skills, we have seen them perform, we just have to prepare the mentality to play in ODIs."

Simmons also said, "We have two sessions in training. We are batting and bowling day and night, preparing for a 50-over match.”

Before the Champions Trophy, the team is worried over the off-form captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto. He did not get the chance to play many matches in the BPL. Despite his difficult time with batting, Coach Simmons is by the captain's side. He said, “Whether Shanto played or not, he has worked hard. He could not play the match, but he has prepared himself. He will prepare in the future also. He just needs a strong mentality.”

Simmons is quite optimistic about speed star Nahid Rana. He said that Nahid Rana seemed a bit slow in some matches in the BPL. A little ordinary in the run-up, less than normal. However, Nahid got a rest after his team left the tournament early. Coach Simmons feels that Nahid is as sharp in practice as he was in the Caribbean.

On the other hand, Liton Kumar Das is not in the Champions Trophy team due to off-form. The team will miss this wicketkeeper. Simmons said that he has spoken to Liton. He is taking his absence from the team as a challenge. Liton is working on his batting. He is working hard to get back into shape.