Hathurusinghe: This is the most well-rounded Bangladesh team in my time – T20 IPL 2024

Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mushfiqur Rahim are expected to shoulder significant responsibility for Bangladesh as they look to build on an uptick in Test match performances away from home. Although they’ve only won eight of 67 matches on tour, four of them have come since 2021 and the most recent two were the stuff of legend.

“[The win in Pakistan] certainly gives us a lot of confidence coming into this series,” Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe said ahead of the first Test against India. “Not because of the outcome of the series, the way we played that series, the way we handled certain situations, we were behind the game in both Test matches and then how we come back and then the people who contribute at different times give us a lot of belief for this series.”

Much of the good vibes in Bangladesh is the result of the way their new players are performing but their stalwarts are still keeping up with the youngsters.

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“Shakib [has] always played a huge part in Bangladesh cricket whenever he is available and playing well,” Hathurusinghe said. “I mean obviously he gives us the luxury to balance the team the way we want, whether we want to play extra bowlers or extra batsmen because of his all-round capabilities. So he gives that adaptability as well as a huge experience.

“He is probably one of the longest international players going around and then he is coming from playing countless matches and he is in good shape. So he brings a lot into the team, not only his skill set but otherwise as well.

“And, Miraz, I would say he is the most improved Bangladesh cricketer for the last five to six years. He is ready to take over whenever Shakib moves out. I think he has developed his batting and obviously his bowling has always been, his strength, his No.1. Now I think he has improved his batting as well and on the field, he is a gun fielder.”

The success of any away team in India depends on their ability to cope with R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Bangladesh will be relying on Mushfiqur, who was typically meticulous with his preparations in Chennai, practicing various kinds of sweeps against the offspin and left-arm spinning net bowlers that he trained with.

“I think Mushfiq actually mentioned to me his record on the way to India in the flight. He said, I average 55 coach, you forget about that,” Hathurusinghe said. “He is a phenomenal player and for a long time the way he prepared, I haven’t seen anyone prepare that much detail-wise. So the one I haven’t seen is probably Sachin Tendulkar…something like that. Close to all the reports that I have read about him, Mushfiq is like that. He is just a professional, a thorough professional when it comes to cricket.”

Bangladesh have played three Tests in India and lost all three (two by an innings). Hathurusinghe is hopeful they will present a stiffer challenge this time around.

“I think this is probably the most well-rounded team that Bangladesh has produced in my previous time and this time,” he said. “We’re covering a lot of bases, we’ve got good fast bowlers, we’ve got a really experienced spin attack and then the batting, we actually have good depth because of two reasons.

“One is that two of our spinners [Shakib and Mehidy] are genuine batters who got Test hundreds and then two of our wicketkeepers [Litton Das and Mushfiqur] are our main batters. So our balance of the team in this series is really, really good and that gives us actually a lot more confidence that we can be competitive in this series.”

Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Source: ESPN Crickinfo

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