Chandika says batting order will be shuffled

In the 2023 ODI World Cup India, a big part of the discussions on Bangladesh's poor performances revolved around the frequent changes to batting order. On the eve of the Tigers' departure for USA for the T20 World Cup, head coach Chandika Hathurusingha admitted that since the tournament is in shortest format, changes to batting lineup are expected.

 

The Tigers are set to depart for the USA to play the hosts in a three-match T20I series as part of their preparations for the T20 World Cup. Hathurusingha was asked to comment on preparations and also batting order changes during his press conference yesterday.

"In T20 Cricket, yes, batting order will be changing. That's just normal cricket. It's about where you bat and how best you bat.

"T20 cricket has been challenging for us. That shows where we stand in the rankings. So there's no denial. But then we are counting on our preparation to do better than what we have done before," he said.

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto later admitted that he did not altogether rule out Shakib Al Hasan featuring at number three but "it depends on conditions and oppositions' strength". Shakib had been hugely successful in 2019 ODI World Cup in England, batting in that position.

Shakib has shown the tendency of being able to use to Powerplay overs during the recent Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

Regarding Shanto going back to the opening slot, he felt it depended on a lot of factors.

With batting a big concern in the lead up to the World Cup, whether such tactical moves prove meritorious or disastrous, remains to be seen.

The head coach, too, was asked during the press conference regarding the batting concerns.

"Everybody got an opportunity to bat in the middle which was a positive. Individually, some of the players would have loved to spend time in the middle, score runs, but in T20 cricket, anything can happen because it's a very different game to the other two formats," Hathurusingha said, adding that they will be able to sort out areas of concerns in the five matches before the World Cup.

The other point of concern would be Taskin Ahmed's injury. Shanto was positive about Taskin's return for the first match.

"We are not expecting that Taskin will not be there. We are hoping he will recover and be available from the first match [at World Cup], he said.