Tigers hire specialist

The Bangladesh national team will be availing the services of a wicket-keeping specialist during their 10-day preparatory camp in Australia.

According to the chairman of Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB's) cricket operations Akram Khan, there will be a focus on wicket-keeping, while another individual was hired to provide throwdowns for the batsmen.

“The decision was taken as per the requirements of the team management. The wicket-keeping specialist will obviously focus on keeping, while the other specialist will help the batsmen bat at the nets,” Akram told The Daily Star yesterday.

“Our main target is to help the national team acclimatise to the conditions as quickly as possible. And as a result, we will take all the steps that will help us do that,” he added. 

The first batch of cricketers who had left for Australia on November 8, attended their first training session at the Blacktown International Sports Park in Sydney yesterday.

The second batch of cricketers, including the likes of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah Riyad and a host of others, reached Sydney yesterday evening.

Over the next 10 days, aside from having training sessions, the Bangladeshi cricketers will also play two T20 games against two teams from the Big Bash League.

Meanwhile, Shakib Al Hasan, who was supposed to leave with the second group of cricketers on Saturday, left for Sydney last night after getting an extra day off. 

After the 10-day camp in Sydney, the Tigers will leave for New Zealand where they will play three ODIs, three T20Is and two Tests.