Domingo wants ‘to continue gaining confidence’

Since the upcoming bilateral five-match T20I series against New Zealand is going to be the final international assignment before the ICC World T20I, it has become crucial for Bangladesh think tank to keep an eye on the mega event when it comes to forming the squad in between the series against the Kiwis.

Following the series, skipper Mahmudullah Riyad and his troop will be playing the Round 1 qualifiers from October 17 in Oman, and given that they finish among top two of the group, will move to the Super 12 of the ICC World T20I in the Middle East.

The selectors are expected to announce the World Cup squad in the middle of the series against New Zealand, however, according to head coach Russell Domingo, it would make the players feel mentally at ease if the announcement is made before the series begins on September 1.

According to the South African, it is also important to preserve the winning momentum in the upcoming series to help further elevate the team's confidence.

"I think the squad needs to be announced a day or two before the New Zealand series is completed. I think we have a pretty good idea of who will be in the squad. It would be great to announce the World Cup squad before we play the New Zealand series to put players' minds at ease. They can go out there and play without the fear of World Cup selection just around the corner. But I don't think we can do that yet. 

"Winning the series is important. We are playing at home, so we want to continue gaining confidence before the World Cup," Domingo told the media yesterday.

There has been a lot of talk over the preparation of the batters ever since the 4-1 historic win over Australia where slow and low pitches could hardly help the selectors to assess the batting department keeping the World Cup in mind.

"Batting conditions have been really difficult. It would be great if we got some bigger scores, but that depends on what conditions allow you to do. I think bowling confidence and getting into a winning habit is also very important, so we must make sure we continue to do that," the coach added.

However, the 47-year-old is expecting better surfaces against New Zealand in Mirpur this time around where 150-160 will be a good score.

Among the few spots that the Bangladesh team management will have a hard look at is the opening slot and the question was there to Domingo on Tamim Iqbal's chance to make it to the World Cup squad since the experienced left-hander has been out of the T20I format since March last year due to his knee injury.

"My focus is on the 19 players we have in the squad. Once Tamim is fit, we will cross that bridge. I haven't really thought about it too much," Domingo replied.

The return of another experienced player Mushfiqur Rahim alongside Liton Das will certainly strengthen the side in the upcoming series where Domingo also revealed that Nurul Hasan and Mushfiqur will share the wicket-keeping role for the first four games before deciding on who will be the wicket-keeper in the fifth and final game against the Black Caps.