'We have to be the best fielding side in Asia'

The T20I side has a couple of new faces while some have returned the side after a while and head coach Chandika Hathurusingha said that the young team is helping the side get better in an area that he wants the team to excel in, especially in the T20I format.

Bangladesh's fielding has been lacklustre in the past and even in the Asia Cup last year, ground fielding was challenged in a way which showcased the Tigers were far off from where they need to be in order to match T20 cricket intensity.

Head coach Chandika came to the press conference after the practice session today, a day ahead of the first T20I at Chattogram tomorrow and said that he was looking at fielding keenly since he has high expectations from youngsters.

"We definitely have room for improvement in fielding. I challenged them in fielding. They showed me some good signs," he said about fielding.

The likes of Towhid Hridoy and Tanvir Islam have come in to the team and Towhid as impressed the Sri Lankan.

"I have very high expectations [regarding fielding]. We have to be the best fielding side in Asia. We can't compare with others, but we know where we need to get to. Young legs on the field definitely helps fielding. They are faster, energetic. Hridoy is one of the really exciting fielders,'" Hathurusingha said.

Along with the new faces, Rony Talukdar, came in to the squad, having last played in Bangladesh T20I team back in 2015. Rony played just one game before he was dropped. Chandika said that the players in the squad will get lots of opportunities.

"I look forward to seeing them [newcomers] in match situations. I am impressed with what I have seen in the nets. I have seen Rony before. I remember he played one game against South Africa. I can't remember if he got injured or some other people started doing well. I am actually very interested to see what he can do. They have done well in domestic cricket so it is an opportunity for them to put their hands up. I think they will get a lot of opportunities to show what they can do. My message to them today was to do what they normally do, in the international stage," he said.