Ahead of the two-match Test series against India, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said that his team wants to win both the long-format matches. The two-match Test series between India and Bangladesh begins on September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Currently, Bangladesh is in top form as they defeated Pakistan 2-0 to win their first Test series on Pakistani soil. Bengal Tigers registered a huge 10-wicket win over Pakistan in the first Test match. In the second long-format match, they won by six wickets.
Speaking at the pre-departure press conference in Dhaka, Najmul admitted that it will be a challenging series against India. However, he added that the Bengal Tigers are “extra confident” after their Test series win over Pakistan.
“It's going to be a challenging series but we have the added confidence from the Pakistan series. I think the whole country has that confidence now. Every series is an opportunity. We want to win both Tests but we have to stick to our process. If we do our job, we can get a good result,” Najmul Hossain was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
The Bangladesh skipper spoke about their goals during their tour of India.
“They are way ahead of us in the table. But we have been playing well lately. We want to play well for five days, that is our goal. We want to get the result in the last session of the test match. At that point the game can go either way. It is a chance [to get our first win in India]”We play with a win in mind. But we don't want to think too far ahead. We want to do well for five days and play to our strength. That's the most important thing,” he added.
Najmul Hossain added that Bangladesh has a good bowling attack, which can bowl in all conditions.
“We are good with our bowling attack, both spin and pace. Maybe our pacers are behind them in terms of experience, but our spin attack is close to theirs. They can bowl in all conditions. All I can say is that our pacers, spinners and batters will give 100%,” he added.
The second Test match between India and Bangladesh will take place in Kanpur from September 27.
Currently, Team India tops the WTC rankings with a points percentage of 68.52. The upcoming series in the WTC include Bangladesh (two Tests, home), New Zealand (three Tests, home) and Australia (five Tests, away).
Indian selection: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah and Yash Dayal.
Bangladesh selection: Najmul Hossain Shanto (C), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Kumer Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Jaker Ali Anik.
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