Courtney Walsh wants five bowlers in Bangladesh side for South Africa tour

Bangladesh pace bowling coach Courtney Walsh feels that the team needs to field 5 fast bowlers for their upcoming tour of South Africa. In order to be well equipped for the bouncy tracks in South Africa, five pace bowlers seem to be a mandate for the Bangladeshi squad. The squad for the tour is yet to be announced. It will be interesting to see if the selectors feel the same way about the composition of the team.

Bangladesh is scheduled to visit South Africa for a full tour later this month. During the tour, they will play two Tests, three ODIs, and two T20Is. The first Test will begin on September 28. The tour will be an ideal test of temperament of the improving Bangladesh side. As per the quotes in bdcrictime, Courtney Walsh made it clear that there will be five pacers and one spinner in the squad.

“For South Africa series, there will be five pacers in the team with one spinner and the rest of them are batsmen,” quoted Courtney Walsh.

Contrasting compositions

If that happens, then it will be uncharacteristic composition of the Bangladeshi side. They have traditionally been heavily reliant on their spin bowlers. This can largely be accredited to the fact that they have played bulk of their games in the subcontinent. Their last overseas tour was to New Zealand earlier this year where they ended up performing poorly.

In home conditions, they recent drew level with Australia in the two-match Test series. In the series, they fielded only two pacers in the first Test. The number fell down to just one – Mustafizur Rahman – in the second Test. During the tour of South Africa, the likes of Shafiul Islam and Taskin Ahmed will have a bigger role to play.