BPL ‘far from ideal’ preparation for NZ ODIs, accepts BD coach

DHAKA: Bangladesh are headed for New Zealand next month, but might not have the ideal preparation for the tour, according to their coach Steve Rhodes.Their top players currently engaged in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), which is being played in conditions vastly different from those they will encounter on their travels.

The BPL will end on February 8, and Bangladesh’s warm-up game in Lincoln is slotted for February 10, followed by the first ODI on February 13 in Napier.The group stage of the BPL finishes on February 2, and the touring players whose teams will exit the tournament then will leave for Christchurch early. The players who will be playing in the knockout stage, meanwhile, are likely to miss the practice match and get straight into the three-match ODI series, which will be followed by a series of three Test matches.

Rhodes accepted that the team could have trained in more appropriate conditions before the tough tour, but were left with no choice.“Let’s keep that quiet from the New Zealanders that we’ve been playing on these wickets,” he joked. “It is far from ideal preparation, the way that we go straight from the BPL into ODIs in New Zealand. But what can we do about it? This tournament is a fantastic tournament, it needed fitting in, and it was the only slot available. We understand that, [those of us] involved in the national team, and we’ll deal with that.

“We know that the preparation is going to be very rushed for the ODIs against New Zealand but we’ll put up with that and we’ll give it our best shot. The Test boys are different. They’ve got a little bit longer to prepare and acclimatise.”