‘If we had played them…’ - Mohammad Ashraful points to lack of practice matches after Bangladesh's disappointing Zimbabwe tour

Bangladesh batting coach Mohammad Ashraful believes the absence of practice matches before the series played a major role in the team's underwhelming performances during their recently concluded tour of Zimbabwe.

Bangladesh endured a disappointing start to the tour, losing the one-off Test and the three-match ODI series. However, they managed to finish on a positive note by clinching the three-match T20I series before returning home.

Speaking to reporters at the airport after the team's arrival on Wednesday, July 22, Ashraful said the lack of warm-up games made it difficult for the players to adapt to the local conditions.

"Previously there used to be practice games before the main matches, this option is no longer there. When we go on tour nowadays we start with the series straightaway and do not have the opportunity to get adjusted with the condition," Ashraful told reporters at the airport after the team arrives from Zimbabwe on Wednesday (July 22).

The former Bangladesh batter added that both the Test and ODI squads had travelled early but still missed out on valuable match practice, which, according to him, could have changed the outcome of the series.

"Even though both the Test and ODI team travelled there early they didn't have the chance to play practice matches. If we had played them then I believe the result would have been in our favour,” he added.

Despite the setbacks in Zimbabwe, Ashraful remains optimistic about Bangladesh's upcoming Test tour of Australia. The Tigers are scheduled to play two Tests in August as part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship cycle, with the first Test set to be played in Darwin from August 13 to 17, followed by the second in Mackay from August 22 to 26.

The batting coach highlighted that Bangladesh will reach Australia well in advance and will also play a three-day practice match before the Test series, giving the players enough time to acclimatise to the conditions.

"It will be tough in Australia, the positive is we will travel there early - 10-12 days early, we will have the opportunity to play a three-day practice match, hopefully if all our players are fit, we will be able to do well there," he said.

Ashraful also defended Bangladesh's batting unit despite the poor results in Zimbabwe. He said one disappointing series should not overshadow the progress the batters have made over the past several months.

The 42-year-old pointed out that many players were touring Zimbabwe for the first time and gained valuable experience in unfamiliar conditions. He also noted that injuries to key players, including Mustafizur Rahman, affected Bangladesh during the ODI series.

"Our batters did really well in the last seven months, one series can go bad, one Test match went bad, the four Tests prior to that our batters played extremely well. If you notice we took the ODIs seriously, Mustafizur and the others were there, but they couldn't play due to injury, Mustafizur couldn't play from the second game," he concluded.

Australia have named a full-strength squad for the series and currently sit at the top of the World Test Championship standings with a points percentage of 87.50 after winning seven of their first eight matches.