Bangladeshi batter Towhid Hridoy said on Saturday that they are expecting slow wicket in the three-match T20I series opener in Gwalior on Sunday evening, reports Daily Sun.
The right-handed batter added that they are not concerned with the severe heat in Gwalior as they are used to it. At present 36 degree Celsius is prevailing in the city.
The Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium will host the first international match through the T20 series opener.
The ground hosted Madhya Pradesh Premier League last week. Though the stats show it is a high-scoring ground, still all the focus remained on the wicket.
It is understood that the wicket has cracks and as a result the grounds-men are expected to put water on the wicket in the afternoon of the match day and later cover it so that the water is soaked.
“We practiced two days here, I think here wicket is a bit slow and low,” Towhid told reporters ahead of their opening T20I game at MSCS.
“We get the information from the ground staff. I think it will be a slow wicket but we will try to play according to our plan,” he added.
“I can't reveal the team plan here. We will keep it to ourselves. The wicket that's here, we are not focusing on what happened in the past. We will try to play according to what the wicket demands. We are ready to take the challenges that may come,” he said.
“Every team wants to score runs. This is a new venue, no international match yet, we don't know much about what may happen. Domestic is domestic, international is international cricket,” he added.
“I think we will understand the wicket when the match begins. From what I've understood from practice, it is a slow and low wicket. High-scoring matches are rare on such wickets. There has been no IPL game here as well,” he further added.
“Actually, we are used to this (heat in Gwalior) and the weather is similar in Bangladesh and Gwalior, so it is not a big deal for us,” he said.
Hridoy added that they will miss Shakib Al Hasan, who retired from T20I cricket recently, but added that they need to look forward.
“Of course we will miss Shakib bhai, but everyone has to go someday. We hope we can overcome that,” said Hridoy.
“The pressure is always there in international cricket, more or less. If we think too much about it, I don't think we can perform well. Our focus is always on our process and how we can perform and bring the result in our favour,” he said adding that they cannot claim that they will be superstar overnight but chances are there to be one in the coming days.
“I can't talk about becoming superstars now, time will tell. At the end of the day, performing well is what matters. If I can perform well and bring results for the team, then there is a chance to see new superstars from this team,” he added.
“You can't think of anything other than performing well in international cricket. That's what everyone wants to do,” he said.
“Nothing like Dhamaka is in our heads. As I said, we will definitely play to win. Of course our goal is there to win the series and play good cricket,” he added.
Towhid added that he is not concerned about having a permanent place in the batting eleven as he feels that one needs to earn it through his performance.
“True I batted at different positions, but that was team's plan. However the team demanded, I tried to play that way. If the team wants me to settle in a particular position, that can happen,” he said.
“I don't want to talk about what's happened before. You will see players not getting chances in their preferred position after coming to international cricket. You have to create that place. If I deserve that, I will automatically be there,” he concluded.
Bd-pratidin English/ Afsar Munna
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