FATULLAH – West Indies pacer Ravi Rampaul says the Bangladesh series will be an important one for him as he seeks to excel on an away tour, following his success in the Caribbean earlier this year.
The Trinidadian picked up 11 wickets in two Tests against Pakistan and returned to get a further ten against the Indians in the subsequent three-Test series.
“I’m really looking forward to the upcoming series. I did well earlier this year against India and Pakistan at home so now is a chance to prove my value away from home,” Rampaul said Friday.
“This is a big series for me and for the team. I have been putting in a lot of hard work and I feel fit, strong and quite ready.”
He was speaking after claiming four for 23 as West Indies beat a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI by 65 runs in a limited overs tour match.
West Indies made 217 for nine off their 45 overs and Rampaul helped destroyed the BCB XI as they crumbled for 152.
His first spell was a tight one, yielding just five runs from four overs but he proved devastating when recalled later in the innings by captain Darren Sammy.
“Today when I came back for my second spell the ball was still quite hard and I was able to run in at the batsmen. The ball was sliding off the pitch and it was bouncing and that was good to see,” the 26-year-old explained.
“The pitch was good for bowling and I tried to be aggressive. We know that the Bangladeshi batsmen don’t handle the short ball all that well so I used it as a surprise and it worked.”
West Indies face Bangladesh in a Twenty20 International on Tuesday before contesting three One-Day Internationals and two Tests.
Rampaul has so far taken 25 wickets from ten Tests and 67 scalps from 60 ODIs. (CMC)
