Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has called for his team to play more Test cricket to become more competitive and improve their levels of performance in the five-day format.
Debuting in 2006, Al Hassan has established himself as a noted player for his team with his all-round ability with bat and ball and has played 30 Tests, taking 106 wickets, including a 96 not out and eight wickets in Bangladesh's first overseas Test victory against the West Indies, www.PakPassion.net reports.
Currently playing for Leicestershire in the Friends Life T20 competition, Al Hassan said that Bangladesh has not made the impact in Test cricket that they had had hoped for and still need a lot of effort to reach their true potential in Test cricket, even though he claimed that his team was competitive in the shorter formats against any opposition.
According to Al Hasan, to achieve success in Test cricket, Bangladesh needs to start by becoming competitive in Test cricket at home, and lay that as a foundation, so that they can get confident and hopefully start challenging teams in Test cricket in foreign conditions.
Stating that the lack of Test cricket is hindering the progress of the side's cricketers, Al Hasan also said that they also need to ensure that there is more three-day and four-day domestic cricket to prepare their cricketers for the challenges of Test cricket.
However, Al Hasan admitted that adjusting to Test cricket could be very difficult for his teammates, as they have not played very much three-day or four-day domestic cricket, which, he added, needed to be addressed as soon as possible.