Jos Buttler. (Photo Source: Twitter)
England are eager to face Bangladesh on their slow wickets in the upcoming white-ball series starting March 1. The world champions of both white-ball formats will be playing a three-match ODI series and a T20I series of as many matches in the country in March.
England have an uphill task of defending their World Cup title in India starting October and captain Jos Buttler is delighted to play on Bangladesh’s pitches keeping the marquee event in mind.
“These are the conditions that would probably be the closest we can get to play in India. That’s the kind of challenge we want as a team to test ourselves in tough conditions,” Buttler was quoted as saying by News18.
The tour will begin with two ODIs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka on March 1 and 3, while the third and final match will be played at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on March 6.
The two teams will next face off in a three-match T20I series, the first of which will be played on Chattogram on March 9 and the remaining two will be played in Dhaka on March 12 and 14.
Jos Buttler’s side is the only team to beat Bangladesh at home in an ODI series since 2015. They defeated them by 2-1 in a three-match series in October 2016.
“That’s long time ago,” Buttler said on England’s win in their last ODI series in 2016 when Bangladesh also registered their maiden Test victory against the visitors.
Bangladesh have a good record at home: Jos Buttler
“Bangladesh have a good record at home. We have some very good players in our team. We are excited for the challenge. We have a lot of guys in the last few years exposed to playing in sub-continent conditions,” he added.
Two England players, Dawid Malan and Moeen Ali played in the Bangladesh Premier League which culminated earlier this month. Buttler, Jason Roy, and Jofra Archer have also played in the nation’s premier T20 competition previously.
The new kid on the block, Will Jacks, who has been brought into the team as a replacement for the injured Tom Abell, was the leading scorer of the league in the 2021-22 season.