Bangladesh will play a one-off Test against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi, where the daytime conditions are expected to test the players, particularly those who have recently joined the squad after featuring in the Asian Games in Japan.
A part of the Bangladesh squad arrived in the UAE around a week ago and trained in Dubai before playing a practice match. However, the team will now move to Abu Dhabi for the Test, where the conditions are expected to be significantly hotter.
Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam joined the squad just two days ago after spending time in Nagoya, Japan, where the weather was much cooler and rainy.
Simmons admitted that adapting to the heat is currently the biggest concern for those players.
“Honestly, that is the only issue at the moment. The guys who came from Japan didn't get an opportunity to do anything there. Then you have this kind of weather, it has been very hot for the last two days. The main thing here is how they adapt,” Simmons said.
“At the end of the day, it is about adapting mentally. But looking at them today, they seem to be in a very good place. For the first day in this heat, they looked quite comfortable. So I am sure they will adapt very well.”
Bangladesh have played T20Is and ODIs in Abu Dhabi before but have yet to feature in a Test there, leaving some uncertainty over what kind of surface they will encounter.
Simmons, however, was pleased with what he saw after inspecting the pitch, although he expects it could offer a slower surface.
“I have seen the wicket and it looks good to me. But I think it could be a little bit slow. We are preparing for a good wicket. We know we are going to face some very good spinners, so we have prepared ourselves for everything. Our preparation has also been good,” he said.
