HYDERABAD: Head coach Chandika Hathurusingha called on Wednesday for Bangladesh to be given more Test matches, saying the reluctance of other teams to find time in their schedules was holding back his team’s progress in five-day cricket.

Speaking on the eve of his team’s debut Test in India, Hathurusingha said Bangladesh would only be able to replicate their upturn in one-day cricket by exposure to high-pressure situations in the longest format.

“Playing more five-day cricket is the only way we can improve,” Hathurusingha told reporters on the eve of the one-off Test in Hyderabad.

Hathurusingha said Bangladesh’s batsmen had proved their worth in limited-overs cricket but needed more challenges such as the Hyderabad Test to learn how “to concentrate for a long time and play under pressure”.

Bangladesh, who are ranked ninth out of the 10 Test nations, have shown signs of improvement of late as illustrated by their first-ever Test victory over England in a home match in Dhaka in October.

But they went on to lose both Tests on January’s tour of New Zealand despite getting themselves into strong positions, fuelling suspicions of a mental fragility and an inability to adapt to alien conditions.

Apart from bottom-ranked Zimbabwe, the last team to play a three-match series against Bangladesh were Sri Lanka in 2007 while their one and only tour of Australia was in 2003.

Since Bangladesh were awarded full status in 2000, they have played only 97 Tests which works out at an average of around six a year.

Published in Dawn February 9th, 2017