Prince also says that the players must be ready for flexibility in the batting line-up
Liton’s low scores meant Bangladesh couldn’t get the desired starts in the powerplay. Soumya Sarkar failed in the first game, and with Liton getting out cheaply twice, they have had to resort to batting out the powerplay overs to avoid further damage.
“He is a fantastically talented player. I think everyone is waiting for him to burst out and be the player that we know he can be. All the coaches are trying to assist him as much as possible. We believe in him. We trust him. Hopefully, there will be a bigger stage in a week’s time to express himself.”
Bangladesh’s shock loss to Scotland in the first game prompted an unprecedented batting order reshuffle. Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim were sent to No. 7 and 8 respectively, while Mahedi Hasan, Nurul Hasan and Afif Hossain were given promotions. Such changes are normal in franchise T20s, but Bangladesh have often been rigid in their batting positions.
Prince said that the players must be ready for flexibility in the batting line-up, and they are often aided by data analysis so they have the information about a particular type of bowler. “If you want to be a big player who goes up against all the other big players in the world, you have to adapt to any situation. Every player should be prepared to be in a flexible batting line-up. We have had these discussions in team meetings.
“These days there are so many stats, but the players have to make their own decisions in the middle. The coach is entitled to have a flexible line-up. The players are open about it.”
One of Bangladesh’s early success stories in the tournament has been Mahedi Hasan. He has taken four wickets in two matches, and looked in decent nick in his short innings against Scotland. He got out to a good return catch by Fayyaz Butt against Oman, but Prince believes Mahedi can translate his bowling form into his batting.
“We had two pressure matches against Scotland and Oman. If you watched his body language on the field, he is very calm and confident in his ability. It also translates into his batting.
“Obviously the coach made a decision to put him at No. 3. It didn’t pay off yesterday, but not all decisions in a cricket match pay off.”
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
