Ahead of the first T20I against India, Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo has shared that the conditions of Delhi are not ideal but he said that the teams will deal with this. Delhi has been declared as the polluted place ever since Diwali happened. With the weather conditions deteriorating every passing day and the air quality index (AQI) reaching ‘severe+’ level on Friday, everyone started thinking over it.
“The weather has been magnificent. It’s not too hot. There’s no breeze. But not obviously perfect with the smog. But it’s the same for both the teams. It’s not perfect, not ideal. But we are not really complaining about it,” Domingo told reporters.
“We have got to make sure that we prepare as well as possible. We obviously have some scratchy eyes, some sore throats but it’s been okay. Nobody is sick or dying. We don’t want to be in such a weather outside in the field for six or seven hours. Three hours a game we are playing and three hours of practice session,” he furter added.
The Bangladesh coach further shared that no special plans or arrangements have been taken for the players. Even India’s stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma said that he didn’t face any issue yet with this weather. However, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had also said that shifting of the game wouldn’t be possible right now.
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Domingo said on Shakib Al Hasan: “Last couple of weeks have been difficult. But sometimes things like these get the guys going. The team has been doing fantastic here, they are working really hard. They seem to be happy and enjoying… So, its been a good start to our preparation. Anybody will miss Shakib. He is a fantastic cricketer, a world class all-rounder. The players look up to him, so he is obviously a big loss.”
“There’s no doubt about that. But he’s made a mistake and is paying the price for it. Obviously, his loss will affect the team’s performance but our job as a coach is to keep the team ready and prepared leading up to the World Cup,” he said.
Regular captain Virat Kohli will not be a part of the series and that might be a benefit for Bangladesh.
Russell Domingo said: “There’s no Virat, there’s no Shakib. It’s an advantage to India with no Shakib and it’s advantage to Bangladesh with no Virat. It would have been great if Virat was playing because we want to play against the best players in the world.”
“If you ask all the Bangladesh players, they would love to test their skills against Virat. It’s disappointing that he is not playing. But we totally understand his workload and the amount of cricket he plays. As a coach, I am glad he is not playing,” he said.
