‘We play not to lose and need to change culture’

Head coach Russell Domingo hinted that there was a culture of playing not to lose in the Bangladesh team management and said he wanted to initiate a shift of culture, while speaking to the media during a virtual press conference on the eve of the second Test match against Sri Lanka starting tomorrow.

There has been quite a bit of optimism following the Tigers' draw against the Lankans in the first Test at Kandy. The bowlers did not get enough purchase from the pitch to force a result as lots of runs were scored. Domingo has been in charge of the Tigers in eight Tests so far, losing six -- suffering four innings defeats along with a 224-run loss to Afghanistan at home -- with one win and one draw under his belt.

However, the latest draw was not something he was trying to be overtly cheerful about.

"It's disappointing when a drawn Test match is seen as a massive success. I'm not here to draw Test matches, we don't want to lose Test matches but we got to have a mental shift in there -- something we're trying to instill in the team -- that we got to try and play to win and not merely be happy with draws," Domingo told the media.

The head coach felt that he got to understand the Bangladesh team culture a lot more since being appointed in 17 August 2019. He brought particular focus to the mentality of trying not to lose.

"I've had seven or eight Test matches as a team now and I think I sort of understand our team and our culture. I know the areas we need to improve on, particularly the mental side of things regarding Test match cricket. It's still a long way to go, there's a fear of losing Test match cricket and that's something we have got to come away from. We got to play to win and at the moment we play not to lose and there's a mental shift we need to make. That shift will take a bit of time because guys haven't been successful in Test match cricket. Until we start winning games, we won't be able to make that mental shift but that's something we're trying to get into our side not playing to lose but try and play to win. Until we change that mindset, we will always be ok with mediocrity and that's not something I want to be part of. We want to make sure we're taking our team forward and playing the game to try to win," he said.

He pointed out the shifts in mentality and decision making that he was trying to initiate in the team.

"We got to bat first in tough conditions, we got to declare in time in order to give ourselves enough time to bowl sides out. Those are the small shifts you got to make in order to become a serious Test playing nation," he dictated.

Above all, a process's continuity is determined by success and Domingo, asked if he want to win the series, said: "Absolutely, we want to try and win the series. We know it's tough to win in Sri Lanka but we have to focus on starting well and focusing on one session at a time. Definitely have ambition of winning the series and will be a massive achievement for Bangladesh," he said.