Bangladesh’s head coach Chandika Hathurusingha is hopeful that Bangladesh’s maiden Test series win over Pakistan will hold his side in a good place in the upcoming series against India. He also feels that the added burden of expectation from Bangladesh is a privilege for a team that he believes is well-rounded.

“It (the win in Pakistan) certainly gives us a lot of confidence coming into this series,” he said. “Not because of the outcome of the series, it’s the way we played that series where we handled certain situations. We were behind the game in both Tests and then how we came back and how different people who contributed at different times. A lot of belief in this series. I think this is probably the most rounded team that’s produced from Bangladesh.”

“We have got good fast bowlers, we got a really experienced spin attack. And then in batting, we actually have good batting depth because of two reasons. One is that two of our spinners are genuine batters who have got Test hundreds and then two of our wicketkeepers are our main batters. So the batters in our team for this series are really good and that gives us a lot of confidence that we can be competitive in this series,” he shared.

“Pressure is a privilege. I mean it gives us a lot more belief and something to look forward as well. But then we really understand where we stand and our strengths and limitation, we understand that. But we are really encouraged by playing the best team in the world. Like coming to India and playing against India, that’s the best challenge you get nowadays in cricket. So playing against the best always gives you the perception of where you stand,” he further added.

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While the bigger challenge will be against the spinners for both sides, neither will be too shy to admit that their pace bowlers will also have an important role to play. Hathurusingha also believes the current pace unit that Bangladesh has a lot of hard work to do, and especially praised the new sensation, Nahid Rana as well.

“The point of difference is the fear factor. I mean when a ball comes at 150kph, it’s very human to require a certain reaction time, so it challenges your reaction and decision-making. So, that’s an advantage when you have someone who can bowl that quickly,” said Hathurusingha.

“The speciality of Nahid is that he can bowl at 145-plus for a longer (period of time). But he’s played very little cricket, so we have to look after him. That’s an advantage regardless of the pitch and situation that he brings the fear factor to the opposition and especially when the tailenders come, you can wipe them out faster. It’s a long process. It just didn’t happen overnight. Previous coaches before me have done a lot of work and even the board invested in programmes at finding fast bowlers. I know the domestic cricket had some rules that you have to keep an amount of grass (for pacers). They changed the ball (in domestic cricket). So all these factors, I think, helped the fast bowlers to enjoy their cricket and have success. And we have a few fast bowlers back home and actually one of our best bowlers is still injured. So, when all of these guys are available, it’s really pleasing to see the depth we have in fast bowling,” he again said.

Hathurusingha is also confident that veteran player Shakib Al Hasan will be able to do well as he did in the past with the ball in the upcoming series against India as well. The veteran spinner has been used sparingly in the longest format, spending a good amount of time playing T20 tournaments for franchises across the world. While his teammates were practising red-ball cricket at home, Shakib was involved in the Global T20 before the recently concluded tour of Pakistan. He showed glimpses of his skill by picking three crucial wickets against Pakistan in the second innings of the opening Test but only managed to bag six wickets in the two-match Test series in total as well.

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To address his dip in form with the ball in recent times in Test cricket, Shakib opted to play for Surrey in the County Championship after the Pakistan series. In a match against Somerset at Taunton, he took nine wickets, bowling 33.5 overs in the first innings and 29.3 in the second. “He (Shakib) is in good shape so he brings a lot into the team, even apart from his skillset,” Hathurusingha added. “Shakib has always played a huge part in Bangladesh cricket whenever he is available. Obviously, he gives us the luxury to balance the team the way we want, whether we want to play an extra bowler or an extra batter, his all-round capability helps us in that. He keeps that adaptability as well as his huge experience.”

“Miraz (Mehidy) I would say is the most improved Bangladeshi cricketer in the last five-six years. He’s ready to take over when Shakib moves out,” concluded Hathurusingha. “He has developed his batting and obviously his bowling has always been his strength number one. And he’s a gun fielder.”