Media targets coach for Bangladesh's bowling on Day 1 of Fatullah Test

The Bangladeshi bowling conceded 239 runs in 56 overs, including a dropped catch, on the first day of the one-off Test match.

There are interesting media conferences and then there are ones where you want it to just get over as a player or coach has nothing special to say. And then there is a third kind where journalists are left too stupefied by the answers to react.

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There was considerable rage among the local journalists with Bangladesh’s performance, all of which was aimed at coach Chandika Hathurusingha. Hathurusingha, showing amazing calm, however, came up with some answers that left people clueless.

Do you think Bangladesh made an error choosing four spinners? “I don’t agree with you,” said Hathurusingha. “I think they are playing to their strength as well. We played to our strength. I think unless both teams bat at least once, it is difficult to see what the wicket is going to be and what combination is going to be.”

Why was Rubel (Hossain) not picked? “Rubel is coming after an injury. He was not 100%. We thought if Rubel bowled on this wicket, there could be a recurrence of his injury because he didn’t get a chance to prove his fitness in a match,” said Hathurusingha.

Then why is he in the Test squad? Hathurusingha was unfazed. “We are keeping Rubel for the ODI series. It is very crucial for us to win one-dayers as well knowing that if we win at least one game, we can have a chance to qualify for the Champions Trophy. If the condition was different then we would have played another seamer,” he said.

Is this the best bowling attack of Bangladesh? “This is actually the best bowling attack at this stage on this kind of a wicket,” said Hathurusingha. Some journalists were actually seen having a facepalm moment. But they still tried one last time.

Do you still feel you can win? “We still want to win. We are still playing to win that’s what I can tell you. I don’t see anything different in the body language of the players. Only thing is the scoreboard said 230 for no loss,” said the Sri Lankan.