Mohammad Ashraful's connection to Sri Lanka is probably stronger than anyone else's in Bangladesh cricket. Not only did the cricketer burst onto the scene by becoming the youngest Test centurion in history on debut against the Islanders, he also scored 190 in his last series to help Bangladesh draw a Test match in the island nation for the first time. The former Bangladesh captain shared his experience with The Daily Star's Mazhar Uddin ahead of the upcoming home series against the Lankans. The excerpts are below:
The Daily Star (DS): What has been the difference between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka over the years?
Mohammad Ashraful (MA): I would say it's experience. We were not experienced after getting Test status in 2000 but I can say we have come a long way in the past 22 years. However, the fact is that Sri Lanka have been playing Test cricket since long before us and they were even world champions (in 1996). We have players like Mushfiqur [Rahim], Shakib [Al Hasan], Tamim [Iqbal] and Mominul [Haque], all players that have played over fifty Tests. I can compare the Sri Lanka side from when we started to the current Bangladesh team as they also had the presence of senior veterans like [Sanath] Jayasuriya, [Mahela] Jayawardene, [Kumar] Sangakkara, and [Muttiah] Muralitharan in the team.
DS: How do you view the growing rivalry between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in limited-overs formats?
MA: I think it's very normal and it started back in 2012-13, when we started to dominate them. Mushfiqur struck a maiden double hundred, Nasir scored a hundred and I also scored 190. Drawing the Test and ODI series helped us gain belief. Initially, for the first 12 years, we used to surrender against them but that started to change in 2012 and we started to become competitive.
DS: Despite Bangladesh being competitive in limited-overs formats, Sri Lanka still dominates the Tigers in Tests. What is the reason for that?
MA: We play a lot more ODI and limited-overs cricket than Test or longer-version cricket. Although we have played over 120 Tests, there were stretches of time when we didn't play Test cricket for eight months, nine months and even 16 months. We even played only one Test a year and that is one of the biggest reasons we have been found to be lacking in the Test format. Sri Lanka are ahead of us because they play a lot of Test cricket and because of their domestic structure, especially the emphasis they give to school cricket.
DS: What could be the biggest challenge for Bangladesh in the upcoming series? Do you think Bangladesh can win the series?
MA: The weather can play foul as rain has been forecast during both Tests. We should not do anything that backfires. We prepared a spinning track for the last series in Mirpur and went on to lose the series against Pakistan. Since rain is forecast, there is less chance of the full five days of cricket. It will be important how the team management approach things and whether they will look to win or draw. It would be wise to prepare a batting pitch since our batters are not in a very good rhythm, as they showed during the performances in South Africa. I think it would be better not to prepare a tricky wicket.
DS: Many say that Bangladeshi players lack patience when it comes to Test cricket. What is your take on that?
MA: I really liked the way our batters played during the victory against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui earlier this year. Even former Kiwi players said that the Bangladeshi batters were strong in terms of their defense, which was a big reason for success. But later we saw our batters switch from defense to attack. Things may not go your way every day, but I believe they will improve gradually. We lost against Pakistan at home after going on the attack, similar to the second Test in New Zealand and also in South Africa. If our batters remain strong in terms of defense, it will give us better results in Test cricket.
You must be logged in to post a comment.