Simmons brushes aside talk of 'chaos' in Bangladesh camp ahead of WI Tests

Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons brushed aside suggestions of turmoil within the team following the removal of batting coach Mohammad Ashraful in the week leading up to their two-Test series against West Indies at home.

The BCB announced on Saturday that Ashraful had been reassigned from his position as Bangladesh's batting coach, with Mohammad Salahuddin asked to fill the role on a temporary basis. Bangladesh's performances in the UAE earlier this month also added to the uncertainty surrounding the team. They drew the one-off Test against Afghanistan before returning home empty-handed from the ODI tri-series, losing both matches against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.

Many believe Ashraful's removal was the board's knee-jerk reaction to the poor performances in the UAE, but there are also reports that the BCB is close to signing another batting coach ahead of the tour of South Africa.

"Is this the first time there's chaos before a match?" Simmons said. "Every series is important. Those that we played earlier in the year were important too. But the thing is how we go about our preparation for the series. I think that the group that was here have been excellent in the last three or four days. They've been doing their work and now the whole team joins together. It's what we do over the next two days, it's not what's happening outside, it's what we do as a team to prepare."

Simmons insisted that the team remained focused ahead of the series against West Indies, which are seen as crucial to Bangladesh's bid for an unlikely place in the World Test Championship final. They are currently fourth in the standings in the current cycle. The first Test begins on Wednesday in Mirpur.

"I think everyone is very focused on the Test match. The same in the Test match in Abu Dhabi, I think everyone was focused on the Test match and what's in front of them. I think there's that goal and that desire to play in the World Test Championship and this is the first time we've had that opportunity to be there. So I think everyone is going to be up and ready for the Test matches," Simmons said.

Bangladesh's drawn Test against Afghanistan, however, has come in for considerable criticism, despite the two teams fighting tooth and nail until the final ball of the match. Simmons dismissed suggestions that the batters had failed to be proactive, saying they had responded to the team management's instructions, particularly in the second innings.

"I'm not that emotional to say, well look, oh it's West Indies. When they're playing someone else, I'm on their side. When I'm playing against them, I still want to win the series."

Phil Simmons

"I don't think it was a case where they didn't respond to the match situation. I think that they played it exactly how we wanted to play it. The wicket got better than we thought it would. So on the last day, it was a lot better than we thought it would be on the last day.

"I think from that, at the end of the day, we should have won the Test match. We missed a run-out, we dropped a few catches. So, at the end of the day, we should have won the match, but I don't think we played it in the wrong way," he said.

Simmons said he was pleased to be part of consecutive West Indies tours of Bangladesh, having been the West Indies head coach when they won the Test series 2-0 in 2021. That tour included Kyle Mayers' epic 210 in the fourth-innings chase in Chattogram. Simmons said he hoped to be on the winning side again.

"I have very good memories and pleasant memories of that tour. I was the leader of the winning side and hopefully I'll have same memories here, being the winner of the winning side. I'm not that emotional to say, well look, oh it's West Indies. When they're playing someone else, I'm on their side. When I'm playing against them, I still want to win the series," Simmons said.