Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons on Wednesday expressed his concern over middle-order batters not playing in their designated national team positions when they return to domestic cricket.
Notably, Afif Hossain, who batted at number six during the recent Pakistan series at home, usually bats at number four for his domestic side.
Other squad members, including Litton Das, Mahidul Islam Ankon, Towhid Hridoy and captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz, also tend to bat higher up the order in domestic cricket compared to their roles in the national team.
There have also been instances in the past where players expressed dissatisfaction regarding their batting positions at the international level—a mindset Simmons appears reluctant to encourage.
“Well, it seems like all our batsmen bat in the top order in domestic cricket. It’s the same for Miraz, it’s the same for Ankon—everyone seems to bat up the order,” Simmons said when asked about Afif’s batting position.
“But when they come here, they have to fit into different roles. So far, the players have been trying very hard to adapt to those positions. I think that’s one of the key aspects of international cricket—you have to adjust to what is required, not necessarily what you’re used to in domestic cricket,” he added.
Simmons also stressed that improvement is needed across all phases of Bangladesh’s batting, not just the lower middle order.
“We have room to improve in every aspect of our game, especially in batting. There’s a lot of scope for improvement from the top order through to, as you mentioned, numbers five, six, seven and eight. We are continuously working to make sure we improve,” he said.
“That particular phase you’re referring to—the last 10 overs—we’ve actually been doing well. Against Pakistan, in the last game, we scored around 80 runs in the final 10 overs. So we are making progress in that area,” he added.
FP/MI
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