NEWS
Follow UsBangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha feels having a reserve day for just the marquee India-Pakistan clash "is not ideal,' and his team, too, would have liked to have such facilities given that there is rain predicted for the remainder of the Asia Cup 2023 matches.
The group stage clash between India and Pakistan in Pallekele was washed out earlier, and the ACC wants to ensure that such a high-profile match is played out to its entirety, something that does not please Hathurusingha, but he is not complaining.
"I'm sure there is a technical committee represented by every participating country, six nations. So, they must have decided with some other reason. Yes, it's not ideal. We would love to have an extra day as well. Other than that, I don't have much comment on that because they have made a decision," Hathurusingha said ahead of his side's clash against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday (September 9).
"We haven't spoken about that [reserve day] because once you've made a decision, we don't have much say. So, if we were consulted before, we would have our comment, but because it's already made, I don't have any concerns. And we just get on with what we were asked. I haven't seen this kind of thing in another tournament. Changing rules in the middle of the tournament, so that's the new thing I can add to that."
Bangladesh return to Colombo after having played their last two games in Lahore. In the previous game against Pakistan, Bangladesh were outplayed in all departments, and Hathurusingha acknowledges there is a gap that he would like to bridge.
"We're very much aware of what happened in the past. But we have been playing good cricket. So, we have to play in a very different condition from the last 2-3 games against different opposition," said Hathurusingha.
"So, it's a big challenge for us, but we talk about how we are much more capable than what we have shown here. So, the inconsistency is the one we need to address. And then we actually talk about that and looking forward to having a good show."
Mehiday Hasan Miraz's time as an opener in the tournament has been a mixed one. He slammed a magnificent century against Afghanistan, but in the following match, he was dismissed for a golden duck. Hathurusingha neither confirmed nor denied if he will continue to open.
"Yeah, we will think about it [whether Mehedy will open or not]. I don't know. We haven't decided that. Depends on tomorrow once we come here, looking at the condition. The condition of the pitch may change from now to tomorrow because of the weather. We don't know. The weather has been very difficult the last few days, so we have to make that decision as late as possible," he said.
Bangladesh lost their Asia Cup Super Fours opener to Pakistan by seven wickets and will hope to return to winning ways against the co-hosts, who go into this game at the back of beating Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the group stages.
