Bangladesh emerging team spinner Rakibul Hasan bowls as team-mate Aminul Islam looks on during a training session at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Thursday. — BCB photo
The lone four-day match between Bangladesh emerging team and visiting Ireland Wolves will begin at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram today.
Ireland Wolves, an understudy team from Cricket Ireland, landed in Bangladesh on February 27 to play eight matches against the Bangladesh emerging team.
After the four-day match, the teams will take part in five one-day matches and two Twenty20 matches.
Saif Hasan, who played two Tests for Bangladesh and was part of the squad in their recently concluded series against West Indies, will lead the emerging team and believed that this match would offer them a good opportunity to prove their worth.
‘It is a big opportunity for us. We are playing against Ireland Wolves, hopefully we will come up with something good. Those of us who are here from the national team, it is a big platform for us,’ Saif told the media on Thursday.
‘At the same time, it is also an opportunity for the players of HP team.’
Apart from Saif, only leg-spinner Aminul Islam Biplob has the experience of playing for the national team among the members of the squad.
But most of the squad members were part of the Under-19 Bangladesh team which won the World Cup in 2020.
Harry Tactor will be leading the Wolves team where there are couple of experienced South African cricketers who have switched their nationality.
Ruhan Pretorious and Grant Hume have a huge experience of playing first-class cricket in South Africa. They both will qualify to play for Ireland in April next year, said Irish national selector Andrew White in the Cricket Ireland website.
Tactor was very excited to take the field after isolation and thought they would face a tough challenge from the local spinners in the match.
‘It was really great to hit the ground after a couple of days of isolation. The boys are very excited. The biggest challenge will be how we play spin bowling, in a four day match handling spinners and adapting to the conditions will be bigger concerns’, the Wolves captain told the media.
More about:
