Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha praised the Indian team for the fearless manner with which they’ve conducted themselves so far in the ICC Cricket World Cup, going so far as to describe them as “scary”.
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Bangladesh have suffered lopsided defeats in their last two fixtures, against England and New Zealand respectively, after beginning their campaign with a win against Afghanistan.
The Tigers face a stern test against two-time champions and tournament hosts India next, at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday.
“I think they have covered every area. They got strike bowlers up front. Bumrah has almost come to his best, as good as we have seen in the past. They have good, experienced spinners going in the middle overs.
“And their batting, especially the top order is firing and it’s scary the way they are playing at this stage without much fear,” Hathurusingha told reporters on the eve of the match, which will be the first of the tournament taking place in the state of Maharashtra.
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Enjoyment is key recipe for success of any team and Indian team is no exception, said the former Sri Lankan international.
“It looks like they are enjoying their cricket at the moment and their home World Cup, and there is a lot of support,” he added.
“Shakib won’t play if he doesn’t feel ready”
On the mend after sustaining a left quadriceps niggle, Bangladesh captain Shakib al Hasan has had a good net session in the nets but Hathurusingha insisted that the star all-rounder will only play the World Cup game against India if he feels fully fit.
“He (Shakib) had a good batting session yesterday. He did a bit of running between the wickets as well. We are waiting for the result of the scan we did today. We haven’t tried his bowling yet. We will assess him tomorrow morning, and make a decision,” Hathurusingha said.
“If he is not ready to play, we won’t risk it. If he is ready, there’s a chance of him playing tomorrow (Thursday),” the coach added.
“First it is the medical staff who gives us their opinion. They give the green or red light. They give us the indication where the player is. If they think it is not risky, the player is given the choice of playing the game or not. It comes to the captain and coach whether they want the player or not. If he is wanted in one or both disciplines,” he added.
Bangladesh have defeated India thrice in their last four ODI meetings over the last few months but it will have no bearing on the World Cup league stage game to be played in Pune on Thursday, Hathurusingha said.
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Hathurusingha, whose side is under pressure to bounce back from two straight defeats, said that World Cup contests are entirely different from any other matches and Bangladesh will have to produce their best cricket in order to get the better of India.
“We had success in the recent past against India but it is a different ball game in the World Cup. We are hoping to have a complete performance. India, the in-form team in the World Cup, has a not-so-good game, and (if) we play to our potential, it will serve us. We need to start well,” he stated during interaction with media.
Batting needs to fire
The former Sri Lankan batter acknowledged that Bangladesh will have to do a lot better with the bat than their recent performance in order to challenge India.
“This wicket is probably the best batting wicket we have come across so far. Even the practice wickets were similar. We had a really good net session yesterday,” Hathurusingha said.
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“We haven’t put up a complete performance with the ball and bat. We are expected to do a complete performance. We know that we play as a team and perform to our capabilities, we have beaten big teams. We have done well in the past. I think we, fingers crossed, have one of those days,” he said.
Coach dead bats question on Tamim’s absence
The Bangladesh coach refused to respond if Tamim Iqbal is being missed by the squad or not in the World Cup.
“He (Tamim) is not here. I can’t answer if we are missing him or not,” Hathurusingha was non-committal.
“Unfortunately, he was not ready when we were selecting (the team). Obviously his record as a player is good. At the same time, I don’t know if we are missing him or not. We have players here who we trust to do the job.”
With inputs from PTI
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