Some sore throats and scratchy eyes did not add to up to enough. Certainly not enough for Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo to complain of the conditions prevailing in Capital ahead of the upcoming T20 clash on Sunday.
In fact, Domingo went a step further. “The weather has been magnificent. It’s not too hot. There’s no breeze. Nobody is sick or dying.”
After all, Dhaka, too, is known for high pollution levels. So far, the visitors have not found it difficult to acclimatize to the prevailing conditions.
“It’s the same for both the teams. It’s not perfect, not ideal. We don’t want to be in such a weather, outside in the field for six or seven hours. Three hours a game we are playing and three hours of practice-session. And we are not really complaining about it,” asserted Domingo.
Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour, too, made light of the questions pertaining to the rising Air Quality Index. “We are used to these conditions and played under these conditions. So, nothing special is being taken care of. Pollution is there but the game has been scheduled.”
Bangladesh cricketer Mushfiqur Rahim with spin consultant Daniel Vettori and other support staff during a practice session in New Delhi on November 1, 2019.
The teams are without their stars - Virat Kohli and Shakib Al Hassan — for different reasons. And Domingo put things nicely.
“There’s no Virat. There’s no Shakib. It’s an advantage to India with no Shakib and it is advantage to Bangladesh with no Virat. It would have been great if Virat was playing because we want to play against the best players in the world.
“If you ask all the Bangladesh players, they would love to test their skills against Virat. It’s disappointing that he is not playing. But we totally understand his workload and the amount of cricket he plays. As a coach, I am glad he is not playing.”
On Shakib, Domingo said, “Anybody will miss Shakib. He is a fantastic cricketer, a world class all-rounder. The players look up to him, so he is obviously a big loss. But he’s made a mistake and is paying the price for it. Obviously, his loss will affect the team's performance.”
Reflecting on the positives, Domingo pointed out, “Sometimes things like these get the guys going. The team has been doing fantastic here, they are working really hard. They seem to be happy and enjoying. So, it’s been a good start to our preparation.”
Rathour, on this part, sounded different on the team’s preparedness.
“We need to bat better when we bat first in T20I cricket. We chase pretty well. That’s one area we as a team are looking to improve. You cannot be changing too much when a big tournament is coming. We need to know what’s the core of our team and maintain that core and in between try out new few players.”
