Simmons sets focus on Netherlands series, not Asia Cup

Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons is keeping his focus firmly on the upcoming T20I series against the Netherlands, stressing that the team cannot afford to look beyond their immediate challenge.

"The camp has been good. Other than the rain, it's been good," Simmons said of the preparation in Sylhet. "It's been extremely hot during the day, but it's been nice."

When asked whether he was already thinking about the Asia Cup, Simmons was quick to clarify:

"Well, you have to run the preliminaries before you get to the final. I'm not thinking about the Asia Cup. The Asia Cup comes after this. This is an international series against an international team. That's where our focus is."

Standards and conditions

The coach pointed out that Bangladesh are aiming to maintain the levels they reached in Sri Lanka earlier this year.
"Well, I'm looking for us to continue the levels that we've set in Sri Lanka. Take away a little bit from Mirpur, I don't think the wicket was as good as Sri Lanka. But the standards we set there, that's what we're looking to continue."

On Sylhet's surface, Simmons was impressed:

"As I said before, Sylhet is comparable to most places in the world because of the quality of the wicket, the quality of the practice wicket. I've been very good the few times that I've been here. Once we don't have rain, conditions here are as ideal as anywhere else in the world."

He added that team selection will only be finalised on the eve of the first game:
"Tomorrow, when we sit down and decide who's the XI for the first game, then we're going to know how to adjust the next two games and who's going to have a game."

No complacency

Simmons dismissed any notion of Bangladesh underrating the Netherlands.
"We are playing three T20 internationals. And once you say internationals, it's an international team. They've played in the last two World Cups, and they've done well. In world cricket now, you don't underrate people. Everybody has a chance to win. Everybody's playing good cricket now. So, we've got to play to a standard that we want to continue playing at."

He also acknowledged the risk of criticism if results don't go their way.
"If we lose against Australia, we get criticized. So losing against a team that is lower down on the table is not a bad thing, because if we don't play well on the day, we deserve to be criticized. If we play well and they beat us, they deserve it. We don't think about losing to anybody—we think about how we play and the standards we want to set."

On players

On selection, Simmons kept things simple.
"Well, we were all there, we all selected Saif Hassan. So, I must have been happy with the selection," he said with a smile.

Regarding injuries, the coach updated on Parvez Hossain Emon and Jaker Ali Patwary:
"Patwari, the last five or six days, he's been very good. He's back up to fitness. Emon, he hurt his shoulder, yes, but he's been fine. They're both fit to play, but I think Patwari is going to need a few more days."

On Saifuddin, Simmons showed confidence:
"I don't have any concerns. He's bowled well every time he's gotten the chance. We've been working hard on his batting because we know he can bat. He's been working hard on getting the batting up to where we know it can be. And yes, very much so—he has all the skills for death overs."

The coach also highlighted competition among the pace-bowling all-rounders:
"Tanzim Sakib has been in the team for a while as the number one fast-bowling all-rounder. Saifuddin is now a member of the team. So they keep making sure the other one is doing the right things by performing. There's always a challenge for that place."

On power-hitting

Bangladesh have been working under Julian Wood, a specialist batting consultant known for power-hitting drills. Simmons, however, said it is too early to measure results.
"We can't see that yet. As we go along, we'll see what has improved. There are some players that have natural power, and there are some that you have to train. So, as we go along, we'll see what Julian has added."

The challenge ahead

Simmons concluded by stressing the challenge of facing the Dutch:
"Of course, it's going to be challenging. The Netherlands have done well everywhere they've played. They've done well in the World Cups. There's no weak team in international cricket. So, we have to play proper cricket in order to beat them."