Learning Bhutan out to give a fight

Bhutan's young coach Damber Gurung is hoping for his side to give a tough fight to the other teams at the ACC Twenty20 Cup to be held in Kathmandu from 3-11 December.

Bhutan is in Group A of the 10 team event alongside Afghanistan, Malaysia, Maldives and Oman.

Gurung, 31, gave an account of how the team is preparing for the tournament.

"We have actually had a few nets session only. We don't have a ground, so we have not had an opportunity to do some centre wicket sessions. If you see the schedule we are up against some tough sides. I am hoping we give a tough fight to all these sides," said Gurung.

According to Gurung every international tournament, is an opportunity to learn for his group.

"We usually practice on synthetic wickets, but we don't have experience of match situation. So the team does not know to handle difficult situations in a match. We have been playing international cricket for about seven-eight years. We try and learn from every event we play. When we come back, we will sit down, analyse what we did and plan on how we can raise our standards. It has been a difficult journey for us, but it has been enjoyable," added Gurung.

Himself a former national captain, Gurung, explained how the side has been training for the ACC Twenty20 Cup.

"Most of the other countries have played at the World Cricket League. Some teams have very good fast bowlers. What we have done is tried to get our side to play fast bowling, using bowling machines with a speed of 80 miles an hour," explained Gurung, who gave up his cricket career to become a coach.

Gurung has also been coach at the junior levels, having coached the national under-19, under-15 and even the women's side. He has already set his sights on the next target, the ACC Trophy in April 2012.

"Whatever we learn from this tour to Nepal will come in handy during the ACC Trophy. Having played with most of this group coaching the group is enjoyable. I am quite confident of this bunch. I know their character and know how to work with them," said Gurung who is on his second trip with the senior side as a coach.

The benefit for the Bhutan side has been that the core of the squad has remained the same for the last few years. But this time the tournament will feature a number of under-19 players who have come through the ranks.

"We have been training as a group for two months. We have had some boys who have been busy studying, most others are working. Now even students who are studying in India and Thailand have joined us," said Gurung.

But despite the odds, Gurung is confident that the side will put up a good show at the ACC Twenty20 Cup.

"I am quite confident and not nervous. We may be underdogs but have nothing to lose. This will be our first time at playing international Twenty20. It will be a tough task, but it is a great opportunity to make our country proud with our effort," concluded Gurung.