Prince not worried about opening slot

The opening slot has remained one of the major concerns for Bangladesh cricket for a while now. And the recent showing from openers in the five-match T20I series against Australia earlier this month has only made these concerns even more apparent. 

However, Bangladesh's newly-appointed batting coach Ashwell Prince seemed not to be panicked regarding the growing issues with the opening slot. 

"Personally, I am not really concerned about the opening batsmen," said Prince in a BCB-recorded video message today. 

The former South African batsman stated that batsmen, who made decent scores in Tigers' tour of Zimbabwe in July, struggled to get going in a slow and low Mirpur pitch during the series against Australia.

"I think we had one or two good partnerships in Zimbabwe. Obviously, conditions were tough in the last series against Australia. It's not easy to score boundaries as frequently as you would on pitches where the ball is coming on to the bat or have more bounce," added Prince. 

Opener Soumya Sarkar in particular came under a lot of stick from media and fans as the left-hander scored a total of 28 runs in the five matches he played against Australia. His best score of 18-ball 16 came in the final game after being demoted to number four in the batting order. 

Soumya, however, had scored two fifties, starred in Bangladesh's first-ever 100-run opening stand in T20Is with Mohammad Naim and claimed the player-of-the-series against Zimbabwe just before turning up with a forlorn figure against the Aussies.        

Bangladesh do have Liton Das available for the series after the right-hander had missed the Australia T20Is due to a family crisis. With Liton back in the squad alongside Soumya and Naim, the competition for the opening slot will be stiff. And according to Prince, such competition will only help bring good results for the side.    

"Adapting to the conditions will be important, partnerships will be important. We have good competition for the opening position. Having a player like Liton Das back is great for the team and the competition will be good for the side," said Prince. 

The Kiwis are touring with an inexperienced side, formed of players from outside their squad for the forthcoming T20 World Cup. But according to Prince, Bangladesh should expect the Kiwis to be smart about their approach.

"I think we can expect New Zealand to analyze well, plan well, and use the recent Australia series to learn from. I think New Zealand are a very streetwise team. They would plan meticulously against every batsman and bowler of ours. They will also analyze and prepare well for the type of condition and pitches we have. They will use every bit of information to help and that's where they are very smart," Prince concluded.