As they get ready to begin their most recent World Test Championship cycle with a two-match Test series that starts with the first game in Sylhet tomorrow, the management of the New Zealand and Bangladeshi teams sort of stand on opposite ends of the spectrum.
The Kiwis are aiming to take advantage of the fact that Bangladesh’s head coach thought it was time to start a new chapter in the country’s cricket history by moving away from some of the seasoned players who have represented the team over the years.
Many of the Tigers’ main players, including Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, and Taskin Ahmed, are out of the lineup for the series.
In light of the fact that the Tigers would have missed out on the edge had the more seasoned group been present, Luke Ronchi, the Black Caps’ head coach for the tour, believes it has truly been a blessing.
They have undoubtedly been crucial to Bangladesh for a very long time. They are also quite experienced and have participated in a lot of international cricket. From the perspective of the viewers, it is frustrating that they are not present, but from our perspective, it is good not to have to play against them this time, Ronchi stated.
Ronchi, nevertheless, refuses to take the Tigers’ loss to the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led team lightly, even if they are without several of their regular players.
It’s their nation and their environment; they perform incredibly well here. We simply need to make sure that we challenge them as much as we can, making their bowlers work hard to select wickets and having their hitters work hard to score runs. It’s going to be extremely difficult given the pace and spin on both sides, he continued. At that point, the game will shift somewhat in terms of how well each team can bowl and defend against those attacks.
Despite Bangladesh’s reputation for being able to ensnare opponents in their spin web, Ronchi anticipates that the Sylhet pitch will provide bounce and carry.
“I believe that’s just the way Bangladeshi cricket is played; there are a lot more spinners involved. However, we have heard that there may be some bounce and pace on this surface. However, we also anticipate a little bit more bounce from the type of surface we practised on,” he added.