Sriram to have 'one last look' tomorrow before selecting opening combination for World Cup, says Donald

Bangladesh have used 14 different opening partnerships in the last 12 months in T20Is but are yet to find a right combination. During this period, Bangladesh didn't have a single fifty-plus stand for the first wicket and only once the run rate crossed the eight-run mark. 

They have tried an out-of-the-box combination in Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Sabbir Rahman but the move didn't work. Bangladesh used three different opening combinations in the three matches of the ongoing tri-nation series but none of them proved useful. 

In the post-match press conference, Bangladesh fast bowling coach Allan Donald said that technical consultant Sridharan Sriram will have "one last look" in the game against Pakistan before selecting the openers for the T20 World Cup.

"I've only played the 50-over World Cups. We used to try a lot of match-ups against the new ball [leading up to the World Cups] to find the right top four. [Sridharan] Sriram is obviously looking at a lot of combinations right now. He will have one last look tomorrow to find the right guys for the opening position."

Bangladesh have only two regular openers - Najmul Hossain Shanto and Litton Das - in the side. There is also Afif Hossain who previously opened the batting in the BPL and has fairly good numbers. Soumya Sarkar showed glimpses of his ability today against New Zealand but the southpaw is not in the 15-man squad for the World Cup.

Donald, though, believes that Sriram is very close to finding out what the right combination would be in the World Cup.

"As a coach, it's difficult for you to tell which is the right combination. But I am sure he has in his head [the right duo]. You can ask how long this 'trial and error' will go on. But as a head coach, you have to go through this and find a solution and I think he is almost there," said Donald.