India's head coach Gautam Gambhir congratulated Najmul Hossain Shanto-led Bangladesh for their historic Test series win on Pakistan soil. Gambhir took names of veterans Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and all-rounder Mehidy Hasan but said that Rohit Sharma's brigade does not fear anyone.
"I have been big believer that we don’t fear anyone but we respect everyone. It is the same with Bangladesh. We don’t look at the opposition and play the game we know," Gambhir said in the pre-match press conference in Chennai.
"I congralute them for what they did in Pakistan. But this is a new series and they are a quality side and we want to play good cricket. Yes, they have experience in Shakib, Mushfiqur and Mehidy but we want to be switched on from the first ball," he added.
Gambhir did not reveal India’s side for the first Test but confirmed that youngsters Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel will sit out to make way for KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant respectively.
Bangladesh’s Test record vs India
Bangladesh have played 13 Tests against India so far. They have lost 11 whereas two have ended in a draw on Bangladesh soil.
Rohit on pre-match comments from the other camp
A day before skipper Rohit said that he wants to focus on the performance rather than the comments of the other team. He said that England players too said a lot before the series. He expects the players to let their performance speak for themselves.
"(Sabko India ko Harana, sabko India ko harne me maza aata, Thik hai Bangladesh ko baat karne do, England ne bhi bahut kuch bola tha Test series se pahle, but apne kaam hai field par Jawab dena aur apne performance se) Every team wants to beat India, they all enjoy that, lene do maze.) We have played lot of cricket against variety of teams. We will focus on our own game. When England came they also spoke a lot in the press conferences, but we do not focus on that; We try to play good cricket and not think too much about opposition,” Rohit said at the press conference in Chennai on September 17.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK
'They are not going to win only with...': Former India cricketer hails Bangladesh cricket team ahead of two Test match series
Rohit Sharma hints Jasprit Bumrah's exclusion from India's squad for 2nd Test match against Bangladesh
