Time to ‘move on’ from some of the experienced players, reckons Hathurusingha

After a horrible World Cup campaign, Bangladesh's focus now will shift to Test cricket, a format where they never really did well on a consistent basis. This time they will face a strong New Zealand unit, who won the 2021 World Test Championship. The hosts will have to field a depleted squad as many key players are missing for different reasons. 

Shakib Al Hasan is nursing a finger injury that he sustained during the World Cup and is not part of the squad for the New Zealand Tests. Veteran opener Tamim Iqbal has made himself unavailable for the series and it's not clear what he is thinking about his future. 

Litton Das was set to lead Bangladesh in Shakib's absence but he requested a two-month leave after the World Cup. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) granted him a one-month leave which means he will miss the Tests as well. Najmul Hossain Shanto, who stood in for Shakib in two World Cup matches, will lead the side against Tim Southee's New Zealand. 

Bangladesh are a weak side in terms of experience in the bowling front too. Premier fast bowler Taskin Ahmed is out of the series owing to a recurring shoulder injury. Ebadot Hossain, hero of Bangladesh's only Test win against the Black Caps, is still recovering after undergoing an ACL reconstruction and meniscal repair surgery. 

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha is looking at the brighter side of it and thinks it's time to move on from some of these experienced campaigners and see how the youngsters cope with the pressure of international cricket. 

"It's challenging to lose this much experience from any team, especially Bangladesh. Because some of them have played for 15 years, some 10. But there is something to look forward to.. [Let's see] how the youngsters can do. I think it's time to move on from some of these players. They are not going to play forever. It's an opportunity for the youngsters to do well here and have long careers," Hathurusingha told reporters in Sylhet ahead of the first Test.

New Zealand boast of an in-form batting line-up featuring the likes of Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra. Bangladesh have to attack them with spin as they lack experience in the pace unit. Khaled Ahmed and Shoriful Islam have only 36 Test wickets between them and Hasan Mahmud is yet to make his debut.

"[Taskin and Ebadot] are our best bowlers. But we cannot rely on the same set of bowlers. It's an opportunity for Khaled, Shoriful and Hasan. Hasan has not played any Test cricket. Really excited to see what he can do," he mentioned. 

The Sylhet International Cricket Stadium has hosted only one Test match. In that 2018 game, Zimbabwe stunned Bangladesh. Hathurusingha said they are not sure how the pitch is going to behave. 

But in that match, Taijul Islam picked up 11 wickets and was by far the best bowler. Five years later, he is still going strong and Hathurusingha called him the "leader" of the attack. 

"There is experience in Taijul and [Mehidy Hasan] Miraz. Taijul, I think over 200 [177] Test wickets. Definitely he'll be a leader of the attack and Miraz, playing since 2016, if I remember. And then there's young [Hasan] Murad there, and Nayeem Hasan. I think playing in this condition and this heat, those guys, spinners mainly, play a big role," Hathurusingha stated.