DHAKA, Dec 10, 2019 (BSS)- In a bid to intimidate the opponents and earn
the respect, Sylhet Thunder head coach Harcehelle Gibbs wants that Sylhet
Thunder to play a fearless brand of cricket in the Bangabandhu Bangladesh
Premier League (BBPL).
Gibbs, who himself was a fearless player during his stint with South
African dream team, arrived here yesterday to join the Sylhet camp. It is his
first stint as head coach of any side.
“I have played with lot of energy and passion and lot of skill as well and
that’s what I need to instill in my players and I want to bring that fearless
type of cricket into the team that I teach,” Gibbs said here today.
Sylhet Thunder will take on Chattogram Challengers in the opening game of
the BBPL at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on December 11.
“Enjoy the stage, I will say them. It is a big stage for some of my players
as they have not played international cricket. I want them to embrace the
challenge in the next couple of weeks and just want to bring out the talent
in themselves.”
Gibbs, however, admitted that he doesn’t know all the players he got in the
team but he believes that he would be able to unearth their talent as the
time progresses.
Unlike some other team Thunder is not a firm favorite to win the trophy.
Gibbs doesn’t mind at all with their underdog tag and hopes he could inspire
the players to fight fire with fire.
“You do not need big names, you need one guy to fire. The unknown is a good
place to be in because no other teams know the unknown,” Gibbs pointed out.
“Like, I said if you fly under the radar it is nice to get one out of the
way. There will be nerve, excitement and energy for everybody including me,”
he said.
“If you play with freedom you can achieve anything irrespective of who you
play against. There is no guarantee in the game which is fantastic. Like I
said as far as our skill set is concerned, we have got a variety of spinner
but unfortunately we do not have top order left-handed batsman… I have only
been with the guys for two days, they are well-prepared. I have seen enough
of them just want them to come tomorrow mentally prepared. They have done
everything there is no injury and niggles. I just want them to have a good
night’s sleep and come rock and roll,” he said.
Gibbs said even though they won’t get all the big names available for the
whole tournament, he keeps faith on the existing players to keep the team
forward.
“I did forward some names to the owners when the draft was happening. Most
of these players are not available for the whole tournament which is
obviously a big distraction for choosing a team, you like the squad for the
whole tournament. Still I have got faith in my players,” he concluded.