Relief for Bangladesh Coach Over Pitch Ahead of ODI Series

Bangladesh national team is set to return to ODI cricket after nearly five months. The Tigers last played an ODI series in October last year against the West Indies. After the long break, the side led by Mehidy Hasan Miraz is preparing to begin a new ODI campaign at home against Pakistan.

The three-match ODI series between Bangladesh and Pakistan will begin on Wednesday (March 11) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. Bangladesh last played an ODI series in October, where they defeated the West Indies 2–1. Following that success, the men in red and green are finally returning to international cricket in this format after a lengthy break.

However, even before the series begins, the pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium has become a topic of discussion. Despite recent debates about the nature of the surface, Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons remains optimistic.

Speaking at the pre-series press conference on Monday (March 9), Simmons shared his assessment of the pitch, saying,

“The wickets this time look much better compared to that series. So our main goal is to improve and move to the next level.”

During the same press conference, he also spoke about the team’s preparation and the areas where improvement is needed. Simmons particularly emphasized the need to perform better during the middle overs in both batting and bowling. He said,

“We need to maintain the way we batted in the last match and work on some specific areas. I think we can do much better, especially in the middle overs, because we were not in a very comfortable position there. In bowling as well, we need to take more wickets during the middle overs. These are the two areas we will focus on the most.”

The Bangladesh coach also mentioned that the pitch conditions seem to have improved after watching the latter stages of the Bangladesh Premier League and a recent match played at the venue. Sharing his positive view about the surface, he added,

“The wickets right now look much better to me. I watched the latter part of the BPL, and even the match that took place two days ago. The pitch is much improved compared to before. As cricketers, we always want to play on good wickets so that we can truly test our skills.”