These days, whenever a Bangladeshi team manager makes
a presence in public, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan-related questions start
to fly around.
For Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusinghe, it was
the same thing before the team’s opening World Cup match against Afghanistan in
Dharamsala. However, Hathurusinghe skillfully sidestepped most of these
inquiries by asserting that it was his responsibility to relieve strain on his
team.
Hathurusinghe himself had caused a stir last month
when he said that people should “wake up” if they were dreaming about
Bangladesh winning the World Cup. Speaking to Dhaka-based newspaper Prothom
Alo, Hathurusinghe had said: “For whatever reason, our captain [Shakib]
was appointed five weeks ago. I came six months ago. This is not ideal [so
close to a World Cup]. But it doesn’t mean Bangladesh can’t do anything good in
the World Cup…
“Bangladesh’s biggest achievement is three wins
in a campaign. So if someone is dreaming that we will win the World Cup, I will
tell them to ‘wake up from their sleep’. It is possible to do something better
than before. We are keeping our goal big – to reach the semi-finals.”
The question popped up again in Dharamsala, and
Hathurusinghe responded: “My job is to take the pressure off from the players.
People can dream, can aim. They can have goals. We are trying to have a good
World Cup, win matches. Our aim is to get into the semi-final. It can be a
dream.
Who will replace Tamim at the top of the order is one
of the biggest unanswered mysteries in actual cricket. Will Mehidy Hasan Miraz
continue to be their favourite opening option, or will youthful Tanzid Hasan?
“We have two options [to take Tamim’s spot]. We
will be in a better place to make that decision tomorrow morning,” the
coach said. “We will see if we bat first or second, and then take a
decision. Wicket looks really good for one-day cricket. It has a nice covering
of grass. I think it will be a really good sporting wicket. We are expecting
high scoring in this ground. We will decide the combination tomorrow
morning.”