Bangladesh assistant coach, Nic Pothas, who is currently acting as a stopgap head coach due to Chandika Hathurusingha having to travel back to his home in Australia, has underscored the need for patience with the blossoming Bangladeshi batters in the current layout, ahead of their second Test against Sri Lanka to get underway in Chattogram on March 30.

The home team were defeated in an imperious fashion by 328 runs in the first Test in Sylhet, with Mominul Haque being the only player from Bangladesh to assemble a score exceeding 50, with his unbeaten 87* coming in the final innings of the match.

Pothas stated that as of now, his side were topped up with youth, who did not quite have any experience under the belt. He also said that they had a premier group in the past, asking for people to be patient during the reassembly. He mentioned that the existing group were impressive, but they will require time to nurture owing to how young they are, adding the fact that they will be up against a significantly experienced squad and that learning valuable lessons for the future will be a gradual process.

“We have a very young and inexperienced group (of batters). There was a very elite group before this. Now we have to rebuild. The only thing that we request is that people are patient. These are very good young players, but they are young and they are playing against an experienced team, and it will take time to learn lessons,” Pothas was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. 

He even likened the budding group to a bunch of school-going children, emphasising that just the way we wouldn’t bank on those children to become masters of their trade overnight, the same shouldn’t be expected from the young and proactive group, with him urging to judge them by giving them a leeway of a couple of years. 

“We wouldn’t expect any different from our children when we put them into new environments. We don’t expect our kids to suddenly be experts. That’s why they go to school. So they’re a fantastic group and let’s judge them in two years’ time rather than now,” added Pothas.

The 50-year-old also said that the youngsters were looking forward to do well in the upcoming Test match, and even in general. He also said that they have a wonderful rapport with each other, with this fact being evident by the smiles on their faces.

He also stated that it was pivotal for the team management to regulate the frame of mind of the group. He added that as long as they were pragmatic with how they dealt with stuff, there would be a lot to imbibe for them, with the nature of the dressing room being anything but poignant.

“From a hunger point of view, they want to do really well in the Test. They always really want to do well. They are a fantastic group. They get on very, very well. You can just see by smiles on their faces.”

“I think the important thing for us as a management group is to manage the mood of the group. As long as we are level-headed, then we will learn, but we certainly aren’t an emotional group. It is not an emotional change room. The change room is very, very helpful,” added Pothas.

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It is always great to have him in the change room: Pothas on Shakib

With veteran Mushfiqur Rahim undergoing conservative management for a thumb fracture sustained by him, the team would surely be bolstered by the return of long-serving all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.

Pothas mentioned that any team having Shakib should consider themselves lucky, stating that his contagious dynamism and reliability in terms of his persona and performances add a lot of enthusiasm within the squad.

He also added that Shakib brings in bouts of tranquillity along with him, and it provides skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto with an additional alternative to get guidance from, owing to the wealth of experience he possesses. 

“I think any team that has Shakib in it is very fortunate. We welcome him back. It is always great to have him in the change room. His energy is very infectious. He has a lot of experience for the guys to learn from and whenever Shakib is back, he’s a giver. So we really enjoy having him around the group.”

“When Shakib comes into the group, it creates calmness. You know, it also supplies [captain Najmul Hossain] Shanto with an extra person he can get advice from. A very, very experienced person on the field. He just brings calm. He is a world-class cricketer.”  

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