Challenge will be to counter Proteas bowlers: Bangladesh coach

Dale Steyn during a training session in Bangladesh

Chittagong, July 20: Bangladesh cricket coach Chandika Hathurusingha believes the biggest challenge for his side in the Test series against South Africa will be to counter their armoury of world class bowlers.

Bangladesh won the One-Day International (ODI) series 2-1 and now face the visitors in two-match Test series starting here from Tuesday.

"The biggest challenge will be their bowlers. They have a world-class attack in Tests," coach Hathurusingha was quoted as saying by espncricinfo.com on Monday.

"How our batsmen handle their fast bowlers will have a big impact on the outcome. We have to play to our potential. Imrul Kayes, Tamim Iqbal and Mominul Haque are world class as well."

"Then we have Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib al Hasan. But this is what you get at the top of cricket. The battle will be at the start of the game. Reverse swing may come into play in the last two days. SG balls tend to reverse," he said.

Capable of taking 20 South African wickets: Hathurusingha

The last time when Bangladesh faced South Africa at home in 2008, pacer Dale Steyn destroyed the Asian side with a seven-wicket haul in their last innings.

To keep from repeating those mistakes, Hathurusingha wants his side to play aggressive cricket and win the key moments.

"The mindset will be to play high-tempo cricket. We want to play aggressive cricket, believe in ourselves. We have to play big moments intelligently as well."

"I am very confident with our Test team as well. We have a really good bunch of players who thrive in this condition. Mominul coming into the team gives us stability at the top. Imrul is also among the runs in the last series."

With the likes of leg-spinner Jubair Hossain and left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman's X-factor, the coach is also confident that the bowlers can bag 20 wickets quite easily.

"He (Jubair) will have a bigger impact in Bangladesh cricket going forward. No doubt about it. He is a wicket-taker. So we will use him as an attacking weapon against any team in Test cricket. We have a bowling attack that can take 20 wickets. We have Shakib, our highest wicket-taker and Taijul Islam, who has been very successful with SG balls," Hathurusingha said.

"We have Mustafizur and Rubel Hossain; Mohammad Shahid is a workhorse. I am more confident than before with this bowling attack. Having a left-armer in any bowling attack is a different thing."

"It takes the conditions out of the equation because he (Mustafizur) gives a different angle. It is an advantage for any team. Whenever we can get him into the Test team, it is an advantage," concluded the former Sri Lankan cricketer.