No reason we can’t do well in Pakistan: Adams

Former New Zealand pacer Andre Adams has been working as Bangladesh's pace bowling coach since February this year and has overseen the pacers in home series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and the ICC T20 World Cup in June. Bangladesh's next assignment is a tour to Pakistan for a two-Test series later this month. On Saturday, Adams spoke with The Daily Star's Samsul Arefin Khan about the Tigers' chances in the series and shared his observations about the pacers. Here are the excerpts:

The Daily Star (DS): What will be the biggest challenge for our pacers in Pakistan?

Andre Adams (AA): I think patience. If you look at their [Pakistan] Test series against Australia and New Zealand, those wickets were really flat. There was a lot more happening in the fourth and fifth day than the first three days. There is a trend at the moment in world cricket that Tests don't go beyond three or four days. I think in Pakistan, you got to have the will to take the game to five days. So, the pacer need to bowl with a lot of patience, understand the wickets. You will require a lot of patience as they got some fine batsmen. Basically, I think the biggest challenge playing in Pakistan is accepting that it's not going to be like how you want it to be but you have to do what needs to be done.

DS: In Pakistan, wickets generally help the batters, so to be successful over there the pacers need to have variations in their arsenal, right?

AA: Yes, absolutely. One of the biggest things while playing in Pakistan is the ability to use the movement in the air with the new ball as well as the older ball, when you get some reverse swing. And certain variations are obviously going to be very crucial. Whether it's cross seam or wobble seam or even just wide of the crease or close to the stumps, you need to try some variations and see what the ball does.  

DS: Tanzim Sakib had a fantastic T20 World Cup, how do you rate him as a red-ball prospect for Bangladesh?

AA: I think he is exciting. Probably his greatest strength is competitiveness. He wants to do as well as possible. For him, it's just going to be about learning what he needs to do and doesn't need to do. It's going to take a little bit of time. However, he does have the ability to take wickets. So, he is an exciting young man. But he is relatively new on the scene and Test cricket is not easy, particularly in this part of the world. It's just a learning period for Tanzim and he needs to stay fit. But he has a lot of drive to put up a flight and doesn't back down. He's certainly an exciting prospect like [Nahid] Rana and Hasan [Mahmud]. I'm happy that I'm dealing with a group of bowlers who really want to do well.

DS: BCB has recently given Taskin Ahmed the green signal for red-ball cricket. Do you think he is ready to return to Tests?

AA: I don't think so, it's too early. He needs to get the opportunity to bowl before becoming a candidate. I think it's very exciting for Bangladesh that Taskin wants to play red-ball cricket. We should be grateful for that as he can easily go and chase cash around the world. He just needs time. Nathan Kiely, the new strength and conditioning coach, has worked really well on their fitness. You need to be fit and strong and there's no getting away from that. All the fast bowlers in the world are pretty fit and strong. Bangladesh is certainly focusing more on physical aspects. If you want to stay in touch with world order, you have to focus on this aspect. Taskin is certainly working hard on it. The unfortunate thing is fast bowlers do get injured. But if he wants to play and gets fit, there is no reason why he can't play.

DS: Bangladesh's record in Pakistan is really poor. Do you think they have a good chance of doing well this time?

AA: Yes, I think we do. The biggest challenge in Tests is whether you can put both the innings together. It's very difficult to win matches if you don't score enough runs. Unfortunately, for the batters, it always comes down to whether they can actually put runs on the board so that the bowlers have a chance to defend it. But it's a challenge for both sides. If you don't bowl well, you can't win matches. And if you can't bat well, you can't win games. But you certainly can't win matches if you don't score enough runs. We got some guys in our batting lineup who have got more determination and understanding of playing longer format. When you are going to play on a flat wicket, you have to score runs, It's going to be a huge challenge. They are ranked above us in Test cricket. We just need to do well in these aspects. You just need to be prepared to play the long game. But there's actually no reason why this group of batters can't score runs. No reason as well for the bowlers why they can't take all the wickets. Just because we haven't done it yet, doesn't mean we can't.