Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar has cautioned Rohit Sharma's India against taking Najmul Hossain Shanto's Bangladesh ahead of the first Test of the two-Test series starting September 19. Gavaskar reminded India of their tour of Bangladesh in 2022 when KL Rahul-led side survived a scare and managed to register a three-wicket win in Dhaka.
Earlier this month, Bangladesh stunned Pakistan by registering a 2-0 series win in Rawalpindi. After the win amidst political unrest in the country, the Bangladesh team is high on confidence as they aim to register their maiden Test win over India.
"By beating Pakistan in both the Test matches played in Pakistan, the Bangladesh team have shown that they are a force to reckon with. Even a couple of years back, when India toured Bangladesh, they were given a good fight by the Bangladeshis. Now with the series win against Pakistan under their belt, they are primed to take on India too," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
Gavaskar doesn’t want India to repeat same mistakes as Pakistan
Gavaskar said that some new players in the Bangladesh side don’t pay heed to a player’s reputation. Nahid Rana who dismissed Babar Azam twice has impressed many with his raw pace. Hasan Mahmud and Zakir Hasan are others who impressed on the Pakistan tour.
"They have some fine players in their ranks and some new promising players who no longer have the awe of the opposition that seemed to characterise their early forays into the international game. Now, every team that play them know they can't put their guard down as they could be knocked down as the Pakistanis found out. It will certainly be a series to look forward to," he added.
Crucial points to reach WTC final
The Test series is crucial for India from World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 perspective. India are at the top of the points table but need at leans five wins from the upcoming Tests this season. After Bangladesh, India will take on New Zealand in a three-Test series followed by Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Australian soil.
"India have 10 Test matches coming up over the next four and a half months and they need to win at least five of them to give themselves a good chance to qualify for the World Test Championship final. None of these Tests will be easy and so we could be in for an exciting summer of cricket," the 75-year-old said.
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