Coach Salahuddin Criticises T20 Squad For Home Series Against Sri Lanka 

Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Comilla Victorians head coach Mohammed Salahuddin, who is also considered as one of the best coaches of the country, raised fingers at the men’s national T20 squad for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka.  

“There are five openers and just two middle-order batters (in the team). Maybe there is an advantage that Bangladesh will always open even in the 16th or 17th over,” he told the reporters after his side bagged a 7-wicket win over Khulna Tigers in a BPL match in Chattogram on Wednesday.  

“You forget Jaker most of the time. Maybe he’s not that good looking and maybe the board doesn’t look at him as well. You look for players to bat at number six and seven and this guy has been doing well for the last two years. I feel that this boy should be given an opportunity,” he added.

Chasing a target of 165 runs in the match, Comilla were reduced to 84-3 in the eighth over but an unbroken partnership of 84 runs off 54 balls between Tawhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali comfortably took the champions to victory. Hridoy smashed an unbeaten 91 while Jaker also remained not out on 40.

“You have five openers in there including Soumya. So, they are all new ball players and will bat at the front end. Who will bat lower down the order? Maybe one from among these openers would go down and bat there but he isn’t used to it. Since they are not used to it. I believe picking the right player in the right spot is very important,” he added. 

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday announced ODI and T20 squads for their upcoming full bilateral home series against Sri Lanka, beginning from 4 March. 

The series includes three T20Is matches starting from March 4, all at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. The Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong will host three ODIs starting from March 13. The two-Test series will be hosted by Sylhet from March 22 and Chittagong from March 30. 

“What they [selectors and team management] understand when they make the team is beyond my understanding. Maybe they look at runs. Someone scored lots of runs at the top order and was picked. A guy batting at five, won’t score a fifty, maybe he will score 20 off 5 and the team will win or lose and making the team that way would be better,” he concluded.