Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe 2020: BCB President says he has ‘no hope’ of Bangladesh winning the one-off Test
What’s the story?
Nazmul Hassan Papon, the president of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), has asked the Tigers to not take the one-off Test against Zimbabwe lightly, saying that their shoddy performances in the longest format can make even the minnows seem challenging.
He further said that he has ‘no hope’ of Bangladesh getting the better of Zimbabwe in red-ball cricket.
In case you didn’t know
Bangladesh's performance in the recent past has been disappointing in Test cricket. They have lost their last six Test matches on the trot, which includes five innings defeats.
The heart of the matter
Papon told the media in Bangladesh,
“The way they are playing I don’t get to see any hope in my mind of winning the Test. If you take them lightly it will be a disaster because Zimbabwe remains in their place but we are not in our place.”
Papon futher recalled how Afghanistan beat Bangladesh in a one-off Test under Rashid Khan’s captaincy last year, and said that the same fate could await the Tigers against Zimbabwe too.
“If anyone asked what the worst performance Bangladesh did against Afghanistan. If we can lose to Afghanistan, we can also lose to Zimbabwe.
“Senior players have to take the responsibility. We have to play a team game against them.”
Also see - India New Zealand schedule
What’s next?
Zimbabwe are in Bangladesh to play one Test, three ODIs and two T20Is. The Test will be played from the 22nd of February in Dhaka.