 "Bangladesh players and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto after winning first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. AP")
Bangladesh Test captain Najmul Hossain acknowledged on Sunday (15 September) that their upcoming India tour will be a tough challenge. However, he hopes the team can make the most of ’extra confidence’ after historic 2-0 series win vs Pakistan in Rawalpindi.
Earlier in the month, Bangladesh got the better of Pakistan in the two-match Test series . On Sunday, the Test squad departed for India with the T20I squad members to join later.
“This will be a challenging series for us but after having a good series against Pakistan, there is an extra confidence in our team as well as among all the people of the country,” Najmul told reporters before departing for India. “Every series is an opportunity and we will play to win both the matches. (We will focus on) the things that we need to do for the win…the process is important and we need to do our job properly.
“If we can do our job properly certainly a good result is possible but still it’s going to be very challenging. If you see the ranking they are far ahead of us but recently we played a good series and the most important thing is that how we can play good cricket. The result happens in the last session of the five days and so if we can play good cricket we have a chance to do well in the last session.
“It is important what plans need to be executed to play well for five days and there will be a chance to win but let’s not think too far ahead and focus on our strength and how we can play good cricket,” said Najmul.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsNajmul said Bangladesh’s pacers are relatively less experienced compared to India but emphasised that their spinners are capable of performing well. He stressed that their success will depend on playing as a team.
“Our spin and pace is in a good frame. But still if you compare the teams, I feel our pacers are relatively less experienced compared to them,” said Najmul. “Spin wise we are close to them but experience wise I would keep them ahead but our spinners can bowl in any condition and I can say this much - that all the players, whether pacers, spinners or batters, whoever will play, every player will give a hundred percent. The difference can be made when we play as a team.”
Individually, Najmul’s poor form with the bat is a concern. He scored only 32 runs at an average of 8 against Sri Lanka in the two-match Test series earlier this year and struggled for runs against Pakistan, scoring just 58 runs in three innings.
The first Test between India and Bangladesh is set to begin on 19 September in Chennai, with the second match on 27 September in Kanpur. After the Test series, India will host Bangladesh in three T20Is on 6 October (Gwalior), 9 October (Delhi), and 12 October (Hyderabad).