Bangla National Cricket Stadium: Bangladesh assistant head coach Mohammad Salahuddin believes openers Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Parvez Hossain Emon are poised to make a significant impact, having already proven their mettle on the global stage at the youth level.
The duo, who have been teammates since their Under-19 days, played a vital role in Bangladesh’s landmark ICC U-19 World Cup triumph - the nation’s only major international title to date.
As Bangladesh prepare for a three-match T20I series against the Netherlands - a key warm-up ahead of the Asia Cup - the spotlight will be firmly on the two left-handers. Now established at the top of the order in white-ball cricket, both are embracing a fearless approach that could inject vital momentum into the team’s innings early on.
"When I came in the team, I tried to find out the main problems. As our experienced players left, we needed a good opening stand to proceed. In Tests, after a long time, Shadman is in a good condition. We are trying to find out another opener. In ODIs and T20Is, we play with five-six batters. Our lower-order batters do not perform well. So, I think I cannot change everything at a time. We need small fine-tuning quickly," Salahuddin told Cricbuzz.
"If the openers are set, that will be a big boost for the team. So, instead of changing everything at a time, I think it is better to make small changes for the betterment of the team.
"Emon and Tamim have been playing together since under-19s. Most importantly, they had the taste of winning a World Cup. So, they can play fearless cricket, they can play shots. The courage and shots needed to play in under-19s is present in them.
"If the openers are set, that will be a big boost for the team. So, instead of changing everything at a time, I think it is better to make small changes for the betterment of the team.
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Following the completion of their fitness camp, the team is set to begin skill training at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday. After that, they are expected to shift base to Sylhet, where the three-match series will take place at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium starting August 30.