“We want ruthless bowling in powerplay’’

I am happy with the seamers’ performances in the Asia Cup. I am thinking about Pakistan and I'm talking from my experience playing Test matches and ODIs there. As you know it's a very different place. It needs a different attitude and a different mindset. I thought we adjusted beautifully. We always knew that if you're going to bat first in Lahore then you got to score 300 and plus and that's exactly what we did against Afghanistan. And I thought we defended that well. I thought it was in both games really, and the second game against Pakistan you know, we only had 196 to defend but I thought we hung in there and fought hard. The only thing I will say is that when we bowl first in in Colombo, we could have adjusted to the length a little bit better and locking those lengths a little bit earlier because the wicket was slow. And there was a little bit of seam movement because the pitch was undercover and I really thought that we could have just locked in a bit better there at the start and that first 10 We didn't bowl badly, we didn't disgrace ourselves. So, it's just a matter of finding a fuller length, getting tighter to off stump.

You know 259 was a tough score to chase down against Sri Lanka but overall, I'm very happy with the seamers in the Asia Cup and on the last game obviously we against India, very strong team we defended 265 or 266 Extremely well held on nerve took wickets at vital times. Very happy with little Tanzim Sakib, the little seamer fantastic to see him out there competing against some of the best players in the world. So, but yeah, I think overall and then obviously playing spin as they did their job well held on to our catches and we thought our feeling was outstanding, especially against India.

When I first stepped into this job the first thing I did was to stand back and watch how things unfolded every day. How people talk about bowling individually and as a group. How they approach, what their mindset is. How competitive they are in not just tight situations but overall, in the game. And for me a couple of things were missing. We were a group that was worried about the outcome. We were very afraid to make mistakes. In this sport it is impossible. In fact, in any sport, you are very welcome to make mistakes. That is one of the first things I had to do to remove this mindset. I had to tell all the guys that you have the license to express your talents. And I quickly checked some stats like the number of bumpers bowled in power plays were very low on that. That shows we were very conservative. And that was the second task. Remove the mindset and say we are going to go after the batters. We are going to use the bumpers, we will be ruthless in the powerplay, we will hunt wickets in that time. And that is aggression.

I want to see bowlers going after the batters. That is what white ball cricket is all about these days. If you remain conservative, if you just ball back of length you have to fetch the leather all day. And we have collectively embraced this mindset beautifully over the years. If we get a chance to go after the batters with shiny new balls if we get a chance.

I'm very pleased for Shoriful. We worked on a couple of technical things and one of them was his wrist position at load up. And his wrist position wasn't properly locked in. And we just, we just, I just worked with him to present the ball better in a much better locked in position so he doesn't lose the shape on the way down. Now what I mean by that is when his bowling arm goes down and over that it stays in that position and he's now swinging the ball nicely. He's confident. Shoriful is a very classy bowler, very, very classy bowler and he's going to grow and grow. It's great to have him back that left arm over the wicket gives us an extra edge. Yes, we all know he's not expressed. But he hits the back hard enough. And I'm just really, really happy for him.

Taskin had a great World Cup Down Under. I presume you're talking about the 50 over World Cup. Or the T20 World Cup. But yeah, he was brilliant in the T20 World Cup in Australia, New Zealand. And we need him firing as the leader of the pack. We expect him to propel in the big stage.

Hasan keeps producing all the time. He is also becoming mature. The more he plays, the more matured he will become. These big tournaments are great opportunities and bring ideal situations for him because he always has to perform under pressure. Players like Hasan, who has the keenness to learn, always learn faster.

Perhaps. Taskin and Hasan will bowl in the powerplay. Fizz will come in the middle overs and the death overs. His skill and experience is vital in those stages. You have seen what he can do during the India match.

We've got a heck of a nice group going here at the moment. I'm very, very pleased with where they are, I think the biggest challenge for me is individually, you know, Taskin, Ebadot, Shoriful. Fizz, Hassan. Shakib. And the biggest job for me is to make sure that they keep up that standard. I reaffirm every single day at practice about how we train. And I think that's where the standard starts, you know, and tasking leads that task and leads that beautifully. Make sure we make sure at every practice that we are aligned and we know what we're up against. Not up against but we know that today's practice, although sometimes it might just be 20 minute or 15 minutes for one person and make sure of that standard. We stay aligned with that standard and that standard is aggressive. It is intense, it's intensive. And we come there with a great frame of mind and mindset for that.

Yeah, I mean, if we talk about Ebadot, he has been sensational. And yes, it’s a huge loss. It does affect your plans because he's a strike bowler up front and he's a strike baller in the middle of an innings, and he comes in and he's always in the game, you know, whether it's with a new ball or whether he bowls outside the powerplay come and knock a few over outside and in from overs 30 to 40 and then even at the back end, that's what he does. He's a high-end strike bowler. Yes, of course, he'll be missed. Absolutely. I'm so gutted for him. Absolutely. Rotten luck with the injury that he picked up and the way he picked it up was even more bizarre. Clipping the umpire’s shoulder. But yeah, you're right, because he provides that extra power the firepower through the middle and when he bowls in partnership with either the fizz or any other it could be all four of them. You know, it's just the tough I keep saying it you know we dovetailing so well that Ebadot whoever bowls, whatever he does and I think that partnership with Taskin has always been a crucial one. bowl them together in the middle I think has always been fruitful and has brought us wickets so, you know, it's devastating for everyone that he's not with us.

We added Ebadot to our World Cup bowling seamers group, and he's part of us. He has been part of us for over 12 months or so. And in every format that we've played. And, look, there's no doubt but I say again, and I don't say this in the nicest possible way, which I'll never do. It's once again an opportunity for someone else to step up into that gap and show what they are worth. And I think that Tanzim Sakib has just been phenomenal. Yes, I know. It's only the first game he's played. But in the practices, he's shown that he is a more than willing guy who bowls high 130. He's got very good control. He's got all the tricks in the book in terms of pace off and pace on and we saw that you know how he smacked a six the other night against one of the finest in the game for India and he just stepped up and slapped him straight with over a mid-on for six. So, yeah, it's yet again, it's the chance for someone else like Shakib to go and shine in the World Cup. And the group that we've got now as you know, we've always said our group is not as big as we wanted it to be. We are still building on expanding the group and slowly but surely, and unveiling maybe one or two more youngsters to come into the group. And Sakib has just really taken the bull by the horns, you know, so as much as we are going to miss Ebadot. We welcome a young man into our group. Now you know what he's capable of.

The three internationals now against New Zealand are coming up, and Khalid has got a very, very good chance to show what he's about. I think, you know, obviously, Shakib has given us something to think about now. But there's still room for someone else to sneak in there and make a statement. So, but yeah, let's see. Let's see how it goes.