Sri Lanka's bowling coach Aqib Javed previews their must-win ICC T20 Cricket World Cup clash with Nepal
Central Broward Regional Park, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Central Broward Regional Park, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
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00:00We've got the Sri Lanka bowling coach, Aqib Javid, here.
00:03So we'll start with questions.
00:06Well, they're going to have to all be in English, I guess.
00:07Who would like to ask the first question?
00:12Yep, love that.
00:13Yeah, no worries.
00:15Good luck tomorrow.
00:16I'm sure you would have seen this morning's game,
00:19and if anything, that's probably helped you a little bit
00:21just for sort of South Africa to race away,
00:23and Bangladesh is still just a game in front.
00:26What do you think the mood is like in your camp
00:28after watching that game
00:29and knowing that destiny, to this point,
00:31is still in your hands,
00:32you have control in making the next round of the tournament?
00:37I mean, look, now people are realizing
00:39that how unpredictable the pitches are.
00:44We were the first one who'd gone through this process,
00:48because, I mean, look, as a player,
00:51you cannot expect anything like that,
00:53which we played the first time in New York on a new pitch.
00:57Now the people are realizing that what total to place
01:03and what they're expecting
01:05when they're choosing even small totals.
01:08Even though the Dallas pitch we played
01:11was, I think, one of the best in the country to bet on,
01:16but still, these new conditions are surprising,
01:21not us, but many teams.
01:25You are right, after today's match,
01:29you know, the batters especially,
01:31they've gone through a lot.
01:34This is not the normal behavior of the pitches
01:38and the conditions.
01:39So I think now the teams will change their strategies
01:42and there will be a little bit change
01:46in the homework as well.
01:48Well, speaking of that strategy,
01:50you come here, it's the first match
01:51of the tournament in Florida.
01:53What do you expect from here
01:55and your opposition in Nepal
01:56who are challenging every single time they go out and play?
02:01I mean, the beauty of this World Cup
02:02is that you cannot take easy to anything.
02:08We have seen some outstanding results
02:11from the associate teams.
02:16I think, honestly, if you look at the pitch,
02:20you have to be very careful, especially as batter,
02:23what to adopt, what to leave out.
02:26And I think the best plan is to go out there
02:31and assessing the situation
02:33and the conditions are the key.
02:37Boys are coming after two defeats.
02:38So how is the disintegrity mentality?
02:41I mean, look, you know, as team,
02:43when you see after two games, if you ask me,
02:48you know, what happened in New York,
02:50nobody knew that what's gonna, the wicket behavior.
02:56You know, 77 was never enough.
02:59Even in the second game, we could have scored,
03:02you know, 150 to 160 because,
03:08you know, if you look at the batting card,
03:09we scored like 114 overs,
03:11and the last six over was like we didn't capitalize
03:16that we should be.
03:18But otherwise, the way the captain and the team
03:22fought in the fielding and in the bowling,
03:25I think the morale is there, the spirit is there.
03:28It's just, you know, one missed opportunity.
03:33Otherwise, if you wanna judge anyone,
03:37how they feel, just see them,
03:38how they bowl and how they feel.
03:41Do you have any idea about the competition tomorrow?
03:44How is the five bowlers or four bowlers?
03:47Are you going to play?
03:49I mean, look, I'm the believer of, you know,
03:51going for the best, and I'm really happy
03:56and enjoying the role as a bowling coach
04:00because this is one of the bowling side
04:02which can challenge anyone.
04:05Ideal combo for any international team.
04:10You've got the best leg in the world,
04:13you've got mystery bowler,
04:15and you've got slingers which is very unique
04:20and very effective in T20 cricket.
04:25Hi, sir, this is Durga from Nepal TV.
04:27So just another perspective for you.
04:30Nepal is a pretty, probably Nepal and Sri Lanka
04:32are meeting for the first time at this level.
04:34So what preparations are there
04:36because after the results in the last two matches,
04:39the pressure would be on Sri Lanka more than Nepal.
04:41Do you agree with this?
04:43You know, when you're playing any international game,
04:46there's always a pressure.
04:48But now the players and the batters and bowlers,
04:53they know that on these pitches,
04:55you don't need to try much.
04:57Just play the basic, basic game.
05:02If somebody best plan to bowl on this pitch,
05:04they just hit the deck hard.
05:07That's it, no experiments.
05:09So basic areas to hit as bowler
05:12and you need to bring a lot of patience
05:15during the batting time.
05:18Coach, in the previous match against Bangladesh,
05:23no one really brought you back into the match
05:26despite that low total.
05:27And if you look at Nepal's history,
05:29they struggle facing such pace bowling attack
05:31that you possess.
05:32Do you think that will be the turning point
05:33that will be important part of the game tomorrow?
05:36Definitely, no one's done really good.
05:39I mean, look, when you have a small total,
05:42someone has to come up and bring something
05:45like the one brought the other day.
05:48Really proud of his performance.
05:50And definitely why we ranked the teams,
05:55because of their skills and talent.
05:57And this is how the Sri Lankan bowling attack
06:00is known of their natural talent
06:05and the ability to do what other teams,
06:10many teams doesn't have the kind of talent they have.
06:13So I think you can't say anything in cricket,
06:18but Sri Lankan bowling is quite difficult to handle.
06:27If you look at ace group cricket,
06:29both teams have played.
06:35If you look at ace group cricket,
06:36both teams have faced each other quite a while
06:38and there have been close matches.
06:40And tomorrow, both are without a win in this World Cup.
06:42Do you think both teams will start at the same point
06:45or do you think Sri Lanka is a bit ahead of Nepal?
06:49I mean, look, you can't say anything on these conditions.
06:52You can't take anything easy.
06:56You know, the team which keep the discipline on
07:00and play their A game, that is important
07:03and we'll hope for the best and the best team should win.
07:09Whoever play the better cricket.
07:14Coach.
07:18Coach, this is Vinod from Nepal.
07:21As you already faced Nepal as a UAE coach
07:25before many times, so how did you see the prospect
07:29of Nepal's tomorrow match?
07:32Look, the first time I went to Nepal with the UAE team,
07:36I was surprised, taken aback.
07:38The passion of the game in Nepal is amazing.
07:43You know, we went to the stadium and it was like packed
07:47and there was like a few thousand outside the ground.
07:52So I think once you have a passion,
07:54then you're not far away from the glory.
07:57I think good to see Nepal coming up and qualifying
08:01for the T20 World Cup and it's a growing nation.
08:05The cricket is expanding and good to see Nepal
08:09in this tournament.
08:13Coach, how satisfied with the bowling attack in Sri Lanka?
08:19I think it's pretty good.
08:23It's not easy all the time to defend the low totals
08:28but so far, I think it's good to see the captain
08:36leading from the front and you can see that energy
08:40in the field as well and still,
08:43I think we have very good bowling options.
08:47I'm really satisfied so far.
08:50Thanks very much.