HP camp going well despite the absence of the head coach

The Bangladesh High Performance (HP) team has been regularly practicing at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (ZACS) in Chattogram as they are due to host the Ireland Wolves. The team, ahead of the series, has played warm-up matches against the under-19 cricket team as well.

However, the head coach of the HP team Toby Radford is not joining the team for now due to illness. In his absence, pace bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake will coach the team in this series.

Meanwhile, Ireland Wolves are scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on Thursday morning. Manager Jamal Babu said, "The Irish team will arrive in Dhaka at 8.40 am. After landing in Dhaka, they will leave for Chattogram. That flight is scheduled at 11:30 or 12 o'clock. After serving a three-day quarantine in Chattogram, they will be able to start practicing from February 22."

Radford took charge of the HP team last October. The Welshman was in charge of a camp with some promising cricketers, including a few of the Under-19 World Cup-winning ones. It is evident that the youngsters have improved a lot working under him.

Jamal Babu confirmed, "Radford is seriously ill. Doctors are saying that he might have cancer. He has to undergo tests regularly now. He is not in a position to join the team."

However, he claims that the camp is going well despite the absence of the head coach. "Boys have been correcting their mistakes by practicing regularly. Champaka (Ramanayake) is an experienced coach. He has been involved with Bangladesh cricket for a long time. I hope we will get good results," said Babu.

Bangladesh's emerging team will play one four-day, five one-day, and two Twenty20 matches against Ireland Wolves. The four-day match will start on February 26 in Chattogram. The three one-dayers between the two teams will be played in Chattogram on March 5, 6, and 9. The teams will return to Dhaka on March 10 and play the last two one-dayers on March 12 and 14. The matches will be played at the Sher-E-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur. The T20s will be held on March 16 and 17.