Mushfiqur Rahim has always been vocal in favour of his team getting more opportunities to play Test cricket, but even the Test captain defended the move of reducing one Test from Bangladesh's home series against Zimbabwe next year.

The 28-year-old skipper yesterday said that he would even favour playing just one Test in order to avoid fatigue and possible injuries since they had a busy schedule. And the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has been working according to his demands.

"It was discussed with us. Coach [Chandika Hathurusingha] told me first and then we conveyed our demand to the BCB. The board is now trying to manage things according to our demands," said Mushfiqur while talking to a couple of reporters on his way to entering the main ground of the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium after finishing net practice indoors.

Recently, cricket operations committee chairman Naimur Rahman informed that the BCB was trying to negotiate the possibility of playing two Tests instead of three, as well as three ODIs and three T20Is, with Zimbabwe. The move surprised many, especially since the board said time and again that Test cricket was their priority.

"We had a desire of playing one Test. It's too difficult to go through so many series and a tournament in six months. Fatigue and injuries are big issues. Just look at our schedule in six months. Australia will depart on October 25 and then we have the National Cricket League and BPL till December 25.

"We wanted a good break for the players. There were three Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is and if that happens, we need to start earlier without any breaks. Then we have a number of international commitments like the Asia Cup and World T20, so there is a chance of players suffering injuries," Mushfiqur said, explaining the reason behind the demand.

At one point, the Test skipper emphasised on playing against higher-ranked sides.

"I don't want to say that we will not play against Zimbabwe, but we have to play more against the higher-ranked sides. Only then can we learn something."

During the conversations, Mushfiqur reiterated his demand of improving the standard of domestic cricket as he believed only then would Bangladesh get pace bowlers for Test cricket.

"Dale Steyn showed how one can use the old ball. I don't want to blame our pacers because they don't know how to bowl effectively with the old ball. They get to bowl only ten overs in the National League and spinners bowl most of the overs. The captains always rely on their spinners because they are helpless on these kinds of pitches. We seriously need to change it to encourage pacers, while the batsmen will also get pleasure batting on such pitches."

Ahead of the Australia series, the Bangladesh team management has decided to have batting sessions with their tail-enders and Musfiqur gave some insight into that decision.

"If Jimmy Anderson could contribute with the bat, then why can't our tail-enders do so? We discussed the matter and decided that they must learn batting. They are now practising and I am hopeful that we will get positive results."

Mushfiqur also said that while he was yet to fully recover from his finger injury, he was not in favour of surgery at the moment, even if the Australian surgeons recommend it.

"I have not fully recovered from the injury. I have problems with two fingers in my left hand and one in my right hand. I don't want to take any risks with the injury on my right hand because I do everything with this hand. I think I may have to live with these injuries.

"I want to get out of this mental insecurity, but I am not ready to have surgery at this moment since we have a number of international commitments in the coming months. If needed and if the BCB feels I should, then I will go to Australia for a consultation, but it will be good for me to sort this injury out after the World T20. Right now, we are waiting for a response from Australia," concluded Mushfiqur.