Bangladesh's cricket team captain Najmul Hossain Shanto addresses a press conference ahead of the first Test match between India and Bangladesh, at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai, Wednesday, September 18, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: Though Bangladesh are buoyant after the historic Pakistan triumph, skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto agreed the Indian challenge is a whole different ball game.
“I think we played very good cricket against Pakistan and that is past. That gives us a lot of confidence. But we are here to play a new series and the dressing room believes that we can play very good cricket. And we are not thinking about outcome, we are just trying to follow our processes,” Shanto said at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
“They (India) are very quality side, we all know. I think they covered all the bases like batting, bowling, fielding. But we are not thinking about condition and the opponent to be very honest. We are just thinking about ourselves and if we just follow our plan and execute our plan, it will be a very good game.”
One of the major changes in Bangladesh in the recent years has been their ability to handle emotions better on the field. Earlier, when playing against big teams, especially India, the hunger and desire to beat a ‘Big Brother’ would see them lose their cool. Now there’s a lot more calmness in their approach which was witnessed in the second Test against Pakistan where they didn’t panic despite being reduced to 6/26.
Shanto credited experience to this evolution. “I think it's because of a lot of players playing. I think last 10-15 years most of the players have got experience. That's why we don’t get very much emotional in the last couple of years. We can control our emotions better now. We are thinking about our game, not thinking about what will happen if we lose or win. We are just trying to give 100% every single match. That's why I think team looks very calm.”