PHOTO: BCB

Sports Reporter

Followed by recent times’ dismal performances in the longest format of the game, Bangladesh will be desperate to return to winning ways against host Zimbabwe as the Tigers begin their African safari today with the one-off Test match at the Harare Sports Club Ground.

And with the Zimbabwean ground staff having barred the visitors from inspecting the surface until the day before the Test match, the Bangladesh think-tank is forced to agonisingly wait till the last moment to finalise their game plan.

“Last time when I played here seven-eight years back, we witnessed the pacers being dominant. However, in the last two series, both Zimbabwean spinners and pacers played a crucial role. But to be honest, it’s difficult to comment (on the game plan) without having a look at the surface,” Mominul told the media ahead of the Test match yesterday.

The visitors will also wait for Tamim Iqbal as the left-hander is still in doubt to recover from his knee injury while another experienced player Mushfiqur Rahim is expected to play today.

Mominul was questioned as to whether he is feeling the pressure of captaincy and also about the Tigers’ approach towards the Test format- to which the 29-year-old replied: “It mostly depends on the conditions as we tend to pick more spinners whenever we play at home, and whereas in abroad, we prefer having more batsman and seamers in the line-up.”

“Conditions also decide whether we feature five or four bowlers or six to seven batters. Regardless, we have to prioritise playing as a unit. And as far as captaincy is concerned, I don’t feel pressurised by it, rather I take it as a privilege and try to enjoy the role.”

There were additional doubts on whether the Tigers had enough time to adjust to the red-ball cricket since the cricketers had participated in the domestic T20 competition prior to this tour. However, according to Mominul, they had sufficient time to adapt and the two-day warm-up game certainly helped them to prepare accordingly.

On the other camp, Zimbabwe’s stand-in captain Brendon Taylor banks on the home advantage and expects a competitive game.

“I think we were a bit rusty and not up to the mark in Test matches recently but we have done our homework. We look better prepared to stamp our authority with the bat to give something for our bowlers to fight,” said Taylor.