Seamers were able to embrace new mindset, says Donald
Allan Donald , Taskin Ahmed
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Bangladesh fast-bowling coach Allan Donald said he was successful in instilling a change into the mindset of the Tiger pacers.
Bangladesh has traditionally given greater importance to their spinners, who were more successful in the spin-friendly tracks of Dhaka. According to Donald, he was able to change their point of view by playing more pacers and encouraging them to play on flat wickets which gave the pacers a new life.
“There is a transformation in the seamers of Bangladesh. I think it has always been there that the seamers were undervalued. So I had to change their mindset. You play on flat wickets everywhere. Every bowler around the world should have the same mindset and aggression and have an abundance of skill,” said Donald to ICC.
Over the years, Bangladesh has successfully built a formidable fast-bowling unit, featuring players like Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, and Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who are in the World Cup under the guidance of Donald.
“I had to formulate a pack that understands and trains vigorously with great aggression. When I came to Dhaka the first thing I heard was welcome to spin country. We play four spinners and two seamers that is how we win the game. But I always believed that if Bangladesh need to perform well away from home they need to play in good, bouncy pitches and that are not spin-friendly. I think slowly that is coming now,” he added.
Pacer Taskin Ahmed also acknowledged the effort of the coach bringing a drastic change into their mindset.
“We are improving day by day. Our fast bowling unit did really well last few years. Mindset is definitely important and everyone works really hard in training and he (Donald) helped us to change our mindset,” said Taskin.
