Ahead of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, Bangladesh’s head coach Russell Domnigo said he sees a great opportunity for the Tigers to beat the hosts for the first time.
The series will commence with the ODI on March 20 at Dunedin. The other ODIs will be played on March 23 and 26 at Christchurch and Wellington respectively.
“It is a great opportunity for us to do something that no Bangladeshi side has done before. We are all excited by it,” Domingo said on Thursday. “It is my first tour to New Zealand with Bangladesh. I have been here previously with South Africa. I know it’s a tough place to tour, but it is a great opportunity for some of these younger players.”
Bangladesh played a total of 35 ODIs against New Zealand and won 10 of them, but none in the soil of New Zealand where they have played 13 games ahead of this series.
Domingo believes the series against New Zealand may help the Tigers gain some confidence ahead of the World Cup 2023 in India.
“There’s a World Cup three years away and New Zealand is one of the top sides in the world. If you want to be serious contenders for an event like that in India, you have to put in big performances in a series like this,” the Bangladesh coach added.
Bangladesh never won a game in New Zealand. This series came as a good chance for them to end this drought. The hosts will miss the service of the regular captain Kane Williamson the first match, and at the same time, they won’t have the service of Ross Taylor. Both of them are suffering from different injuries.
“It is a bit of a boost for us, not having them there in the first game in particular. But we know that new players are always keen to establish themselves, so they will be highly motivated to do well. I have been following a bit of domestic cricket in New Zealand for a while. They obviously have a lot of depth so it’s hard to replace that type of quality and number of games those guys have played. They have got such good depth at the moment,” Domingo added.
Williamson played 11 ODIs against Bangladesh and scored 422 runs at an average of 52.75 with a century, and Taylor faced Bangladesh in 24 matches and amassed 1003 runs at an average of 59.00 with two centuries.
Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal is uncertain in the first game as he has been suffering from an injury for a while. And, Mosaddek Hossain, the middle-order batsman, has also been suffering from a grade one tear on his thigh, is also uncertain for the ODI series.
If Tamim fails to make the XI, Mahmudullah Riyad, the T20 captain of Bangladesh, might lead the team in ODI.
