Immediate goal is to build relationships with the Bangladesh players, claims Russell Domingo
Bangladesh’s newly appointed head coach Russell Domingo has stated that he will be focusing on observing the team’s training initially to help adapt to their ways and gain their trust. He further discussed the team’s recent exploits in Sri Lanka and England as well as their future in test cricket.
After Steve Rhodes’ contract with the team was terminated, due to what was deemed to be a poor showing by the Tigers in the World Cup, South African Russell Domingo has been handed the reigns of the team for a period of two years. He was previously the coach of the Proteas for five years and led to the 2015 World Cup semifinal. The 44-year old has expressed his views on how he intends to settle into the job.
"We can't expect Bangladesh cricket to adapt to us, we've got to adapt to Bangladesh cricket. And we've got to find a way to make our processes and our systems work with the cricket organisation and with the players," Domingo was reported saying by Cricbuzz.
“My immediate goal is to make some sort of connection with the players, to understand the players, build some relationships over the next week or two - I think that's massively important. Try and gain the players' trust, see how the players go about their work. It's very much an observatory role the next couple of days," he added.
Bangladesh have recently returned from a disappointing tour of Sri Lanka where they were whitewashed 3-0 by the hosts in a completely one-sided affair. However, Domingo has defended the team’s performance on the tour.
"Touring straight after a World Cup is always going to be hard. Sri Lanka probably had a bit more to gain from it with a few players leaving, it was Lasith's last game, Kulasekara was given a farewell, they had a bit more to prove. While Bangladesh players - I was watching from the outside - had just come off a long World Cup and probably needed more of a break than they did, so I wouldn't read too much into the Sri Lankan series," he said.
Earlier in the year, the country had gone to play the World Cup in England with ambitions bigger than ever before as some of its players admitted. However, they failed to fulfill expectations, finishing well short of the points tally required for the knockout round even though they managed to beat higher ranked South Africa and traditional heavyweights West Indies.
"The log will say they ended seventh , I think they played better than that. And I've been in international cricket long enough to know that sometimes the results can hinge on a decision here and there, so it's not always a fair reflection of where you are as a team. There were a lot of positives to come out of the World Cup that they can build on going forward for sure," Domingo explained.
The coach’s major assignment in the near future would be guide Bangladesh to results in the newly introduced World Test Championships, a format in which the nation has not enjoyed much success historically.
“It's a massive opportunity for Bangladesh to compete regularly in Test match cricket. Their last match was maybe six months ago, we can hardly remember when it was. The more you play the better you're going to get in the format. That's probably where they have been lacking," he concluded.
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