Main job is to prepare more players for senior side: Helmot

Simon Helmot, coach of the High Performance Unit (HP), on Friday said the HP is working hard to provide more talents to the senior side. HP is now gearing up for a three-match one-day and two-match four-day series against their Sri Lankan counterparts.

“They boys played a lot of cricket before Eid. After the break, they’re now preparing for the next challenge against Sri Lanka. The more they play they more experienced they will be,” Helmot told reporters on Friday at the national academy ground.

The Australian coach is not worried much about the result in the coming series against Sri Lanka. He is rather concerned more to make the opportunity for the boys to play more cricket that can provide them with a good chance to get experience for the coming days.

“I want the players to get a good opportunity to perform against unfamiliar international opposition. When you play for the national team, you play against the players you don't know very well in unfamiliar surroundings. We’ll play in the known condition (in this series) but we’ll face the bowlers and the batsmen we might not know very well,” he added.

There are some players in the HP who played a little bit of international cricket previously. But according to Helmot, they are yet to achieve the quality to play in the international circuit.

“Shanto (Najmul Hossain) played some matches for the national team. Yasir (Ali) is around the national team and Afif (Hossain) played a T20I. But they still need to improve their games to make a mark on the national side. And this is why HP is working hard. Our main job is to provide the national side with more talents,” Helmot further said.

He believes he has some players in this bunch of HP who can advance to the national side if they manage to live up to the expectations in the series against Sri Lankan counterparts. He, however, refused to name them.

“I can’t (come up with the names). But if Mishu (Yasin Arafat) can bowl faster and take the wickets, if Afif (Hossain) can move from 40-50 to 120-130, if Biplob can spin the ball and passes the bat as a leg-spinner (they will get a chance in the national team),” he said.