A separate camp for pace bowler stressed
Image : Collected
|| CF Correspondent ||
Pacers should go on a separate programme where they can work more on their strengths and weaknesses on the stroke of the resumption of cricket with the new normal rule.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has put new paradigms for the resumption of cricket in the post-COVID-19 era, such as banning the usage of saliva on the ball and use of substitutes.
For this, the pacers have to face the most out of it. They should undergo a more seminal change to make themselves worthy enough to adapt to the new normal rule.
The veteran pacer Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is now on the breach of his career and the young pace unit with Mohammad Saifuddin, Abu Jayed Rahi and Ebadat Hossain needing a mentor like him who can usher them in an era of pace prowess following the exploits Mustafizur Rahman and Rubel Hossain.
It seems that the Tigers are more reliant on their pace department in ODIs than in Tests on home turf. While it indicates the mindset of the management, it also indicates the gap in experience and skill-set of the Bangladesh pacers compared to that elsewhere.
Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal said the pacers should prepare themselves mentally stronger to do well on flat surfaces.
Citing the example of the country’s most successful pacer Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Tamim said as Bangladesh have a good number of pacers in the pipeline, they would use to make his point.
“A bowler who bowls well in Bangladesh is likely to succeed in England. I feel that if our pacers get more experience, we will be more competitive. The pacers will need to be mentally stronger and find a way to become good in these [home] conditions. If we talk about providing grassy wickets [at home], they will surely do well but they won’t learn the art of bowling on flat wickets,” said Tamim Iqbal.
“If you think about Mashrafe bhai, he didn’t play on grassy wickets a lot. He played mostly on flat wickets but he also knew how to bowl on those [grassy] wickets. We’ve a lot of talent at our disposal [in the pace department]. We lack some experience but if we can work on our strengths and weaknesses, I am sure we will become a good bowling side,” Tamim told leading English daily.
Regarding the improvement of the pacers countries, local coach and mentor to many of the national team stars Mohammad Salahuddin said that the fast bowlers should undergo a programme where they will learn to bowl over a speed of 140 kmph otherwise it will become difficult for the pacers to survive in Tests.
“We’ve got quite a few pace bowlers now with pace and skill. I feel that they need to be separated from the rest and there should be a special programme for them. We should have a separate unit of just pacers,” Salahuddin said.
“If you can’t bowl at 140 kmph, it becomes difficult to bowl in Tests and survive. If we create a separate unit and train them, the bowling unit will be stronger and it will be hugely beneficial. We’ve some good prospects and arranging something like this is not a matter of spending a lot of money. There are lots of good coaches from abroad here now so it’ll be easy to do. It’ll ensure that focus is on each and every boy in the unit,” he added.
