Ian Bishop was one of the pioneers in building tradition of fast bowling in West Indies. After leaving the game, he also gained reputation as a commentator. The 53-year-old former star is now giving expert opinion from the commentary box of the ongoing Caribbean tour of Bangladesh. In a recent interview, the Windies legend, shared his views on Bangladesh’s cricket culture, pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman’s impact and many more.
When asked about a good cricket culture and how can Bangladesh improve on this aspect, Bishop said, “By definition, group culture refers to the combination of values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours that exist within a particular group. I am not so close to the management of Bangladesh to give any advice.
However, Bangladesh have been slowly improving on the white ball version for some time. So I’m sure their great and experienced management will have a firm grip on their needs. Much of the culture should be managed by the team’s senior players and leaders. When seniors observe these, others will follow their lead.”
The Caribbean pace legend was impressed with Mustafizur’s recent run of form and said the current version of Fizz is the best.
“I like this version of Mustafizur even more than what I saw in previous years. His ability to swing the ball into the right-handed batsmen with the new ball has become a great asset with his cutter. His speed seems to have returned and he seems to be in very good rhythm,” Bishop said.
He also gave advice to BCB regarding the development of pace bowlers.
“When the BCB finds pace bowler prospects, the board must pay special attention to those players and supervise them accordingly. If that means taking these young players away from their home environment for a while to strengthen, nurture and care for them, then that should be the case without any doubt,” Bishop said.
“Bowling coach Otis Gibson will be very important in their development. Proper diet, physical strength and proper condition are essential for these young bowlers. If Bangladesh cannot develop bowlers who can bowl at speeds of 140 kmph or closer, it will not be possible to compete outside the subcontinent,” he added.