'Aussies unsure about their team'

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hatuhrusingha has made it a habit of fronting up to the press when the Tigers are having a rough ride. He used the media platform to take a swipe at the ICC match officials when two of his bowlers -- Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny -- were reported for suspect actions.

He went on the record by saying that 'if they have a concern about my bowlers, I have a concern about their [ICC's] actions as well'.

On Saturday afternoon after an intense three-hour training session at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, the Sri Lankan apparently tried everything in his power to keep the worst-kept secret close to his chest when asked whether he had any knowledge about the ICC judgment on Taskin and Sunny.

“I haven't heard anything about that,” was the short reply from Hathurusingha. It may be true but people will hardly buy that story, especially as Bangladesh team manager Khaled Mahmud confirmed that he had received the ICC reports on Taskin and Sunny immediately after that briefing.

It may be a good way to handle such a pressure situation, but Hathurusingha was true to his words while responding to other issues ahead of Bangladesh's tough match against Australia. Actually his perception about the Aussies in this tournament was quite interesting. 

“Australia is a very strong team. But one thing I have noticed this time is that they are not sure of their combination. This is not like Australia. Normally they are sure about their eleven but this time in this tournament they are not sure of it and that's a bit of an advantage [for us] this time”, observed Hathurusingha.

“I think this kind of wicket is more batter-friendly and the ball comes off the wicket nicely. This is a high-scoring ground. Normally, 180 is a par score here. It's a good batting wicket,” was his first reaction to the Chinnaswamy wicket.

Asked how good it would be for him to have players with prior experience of playing on this wicket, he said: “Always it is an advantage if you have some kind of practice on these wickets. Yes, Shakib has played and some other guys have also played. So, that should come in handy.”

Regarding the fitness of pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman, Hathurusingha looked confident.

“I think he is fit enough. We will have to make a call tomorrow. He bowled today and we will see how he pulls up tomorrow. It's down to the physio and whether he gives me the green light.”

When asked if he had really missed Mustafizur against Pakistan, he said: “Oh, always you miss a bowler like Mustafizur in any match. I mean, I can't say if he was there it would have been different. But definitely we missed him for all the qualifying games.”

But when asked if the liberty Mustafizur is enjoying would also be applicable for all other players, the coach reacted a bit pensively.

“What do you mean by trend? If you send him back you can't have him, that's the rule. So, we had to keep [him] and that's all. That is not a question for me at this stage,” he replied a bit acidly.

He also defended left-handed opener Soumya Sarkar vehemently.

“If you judge someone within four innings, who has done so much for the last one and a half years, we are in a very stately situation.”

Asked if his batting is mentally up there to chase down a total like 200 he said: “Chasing 200 is always tough. We need to make good decisions and we have to go with a clear mind as you said. We have not done it but one day we will. That's uncharted territory for us. But that is in our reach. We play five bowlers to keep the opposition to a chaseable target; that's our game plan. But if the opposition gets 200 our job is to fight to get there.”

When asked whether he has a real big hitter down the order he retorted with a smile: “Do we have anyone? We would love to have one but I'm happy with what we have.”