Facing a strong Afghanistan is blessing for a proper World Cup prep: Pothas

Bangladesh assistant coach Nic Pothas found a blessing in facing off against a strong Afghanistan just ahead of the Asia Cup and World Cup.

According to him, it will give Bangladesh an opportunity to have quality preparation for these global tournaments and also help them figure out what needs to be fixed.

Afghanistan will come back to Bangladesh again next month to play the three ODIs and two T20 Internationals for which they announced a full-strength side including their star player Rashid Khan.

The two teams had already met for a one-off Test and Bangladesh crushed that inexperienced Afghans by 546 runs to seal their biggest margin of victory in Tests, in terms of runs -- the largest of the 21st century by any team -- and also the third-highest ever in Test cricket history.

"The big picture is obviously the World Cup, the Asia Cup. We cannot wish for better preparation for that than a series against Afghanistan.

They are a very, very good one-day team. A lot of their main players will now be fresh. They've gone away. They've had a break. They're going to come back," Nic Pothas said here today after Bangladesh's practice session.

"They're a very, very proud nation. The defeat in the Test match will motivate them as well when we're coming back. But it's very exciting for us because it'll tell us where we are and it'll give us a really good insight as to what we need to work on, what we're doing well, etc. So, it's an exciting series, but it's going to be very, very tough."

Pothas however hoped that Tamim Iqbal, the captain of the ODI team, will be fit enough to play the ODI series. Tamim missed the one-off Test due to a lower back issue and also sustained pain at the same place during the last practice session on Thursday.

"Tamim is playing as well as I've seen him play. We've made a few small changes and he's playing phenomenally well. From a medical point of view, I can't make a comment because I'm not aware. I'm not a doctor. I'm not a physicist. So I can't make that judgment. But from a cricketing point of view, he's in a very good place," Pothas, the former South African wicket-keeper batter, remarked.

Pothas also spoke on the importance of lower-order batting. He said it is essential that the lower order contributed significantly to make the team a force.

"I think the important thing is that all the batters that bat from 7,8 down. They've got a really tough job. They've either got a hit at the end or they've got to stay with the batter," he said. 

"The amount of decisions they've got to make is tough. We'll obviously help them from the side and the batter who's in will help them from the side. But we just want to make our bottom order, middle to lower order, as good as possible. There's no reason why they cannot be because they have so much skill. Taskin is a very, very good batter. He has a good record. He's scored runs before in that position. He's a big, strong guy. He hits the ball hard. So we make a few adjustments here and there. He's a phenomenal cricketer."

He further said that as a team they felt no pressure but pressure is the thing that always comes from the media and supporters. 

"With regards to pressure on us, there's only... Pressure only comes from one side. It comes from the media and the supporters, not from us. So, it's up to you how much pressure you want to put us on."