A lot more than usual will be riding on the Tigers' preparatory camp that begins on June 4.
The newly-appointed selection panel will call up 30 players to train at the Shere-e-Bangla National Stadium ahead of the nearly month-long tour to Zimbabwe that begins in the end of July.
It's safe to say that half of those 30 know they will be touring the African nation and would have to go through more than the normal fitness load and net sessions.
Under trainer Grant Luden, the Tigers will have to undertake all the necessary fitness routines as well as getting used to the red ball, the most crucial aspect of the camp.
Evidently, the senior members of the squad have expressed concern privately over their acute lack of preparedness when it comes to the game's No. 1 format.
The concern is quite obvious -- the Tigers haven't played a Test match since June 6 last year, and their next Test will be on the first week of August against Zimbabwe. Essentially, they will be playing a Test after 14 months, the longest break the Tigers have taken since becoming a Test-playing nation.
The last time such a break took place was between April 2006 and May 2007, a 13-month lull. There has been an eight-month break (between February and October, 2008) and several 6-month interruptions since the early days.
"It is always difficult for the team," said former national captain Habibul Bashar yesterday. "Everything starts anew and it is hard to adjust. It was particularly hard for us because immediately after we finished the World Cup, we had to play Tests against India."
Bashar, the country's highest Test scorer, is a selector now and believes that this team is in a slightly more advantageous position as they will have a two-month camp before they play the longer-version game. "They at least will have time to think. Sometimes a long, hard discussion also helps. Someone points out a mistake and you talk about it, things become slightly easier for the batsmen," he said, adding that Zimbabwe too will be playing a Test match after six years.
After the Manchester Test (which the Tigers lost by an innings and 80 runs) last year, the Tigers have played 26 ODIs, including series wins over New Zealand and Zimbabwe and the uninspiring World Cup at home.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) cancelled a scheduled Test series against New Zealand last year, shunting it back by a year because it was at the top of the "run-up" to the World Cup. What difference would it have made if the Tigers had played Tests then is a question only the authorities would be able to answer; Australia, England, India and South Africa, the purported models for Bangladesh cricket, played Tests as late as January this year.
Barring injuries and other concerns, the Tigers' batting line-up will bear a familiar look when they take on Zimbabwe in August but even those in the top seven haven't played that many first-class games in the interim.
The chief worry is that the openers -- Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes -- haven't played a four-dayer since that Test last year while skipper Shakib Al Hasan's stint with Worcestershire last year was his last foray into first-class cricket (September 2010).
Shahriar Nafees, Mahmudullah Riyad, Junaed Siddiqui, Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim played in the latter stages of the National Cricket League, with Junaed and Ashraful batting out two innings in South Africa for Bangladesh A.
Bashar believed however that it would be tougher for the bowlers to adjust to five-day mode.
"They have to be a lot more patient. I think it is harder on the bowlers as they are used to operating differently. They are more focussed on line and length and bowl a smaller spell than they have to in Test cricket.
"They still have two months now, and with diligent planning, things can turn around," said Bashar.
LONG BREAKS IN TESTS
14 months -- June 2010 to August 2011
13 months -- April 2006 to May 2007
8 months -- February 2008 to October 2008
6 months -- July 2009 to January 2010
6 months -- January 2009 to July 2009
6 months -- July 2007 to January 2008
6 months -- January to July 2002
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