Sports Desk:

Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons appeared at the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Cricket Stadium’s press conference arena on Sunday, five minutes earlier than scheduled, walking straight in from a practice session.

Simmons, drenched in sweat after throwing balls to the batters for over an hour, was clearly in search of some cool air — but the packed, stuffy room offered little relief.

With traveling journalists hastily preparing for the press briefing, everything felt rushed since Simmons arrived earlier than scheduled.

Yet patience was the order of the day, not just for the reporters and Simmons himself, but also, as Simmons later stressed, for everyone involved with Bangladesh cricket.

“Absolutely. I’m asking for patience, especially from the Bangladeshi people,” Simmons said, ahead of the second Test against Zimbabwe. “Their passion for cricket is unmatched. We’re trying to put the right processes in place to ensure long-term improvement,” he said.

While the national team grapples with a difficult run of form over the past six months, off-field issues, particularly surrounding the ongoing Dhaka Premier League, have added to the distractions. Simmons acknowledged that the coaching staff is making a concerted effort to shield the players from any outside noise.

“As coaches and staff, we need to shield the players from outside distractions. When we meet tonight, we’ll emphasize that the next five days are all that matter — not anything happening outside,” he said.

Bangladesh lost the opening Test of the two-match series against Zimbabwe in Sylhet, with the batting collapse being the major talking point. Heading into the Chattogram Test, the same concerns loom large.

“The message to the players is that we had a few soft dismissals, and we must keep improving as we move forward,” Simmons said. “We can’t afford to have good performances just once every two or three Tests; we need consistency.”