The Hindu : Sport : It's important to maintain our good Test form

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 10, 2004

Sport

Sport

It's important to maintain our good Test form

The two-Test series against Bangladesh starts after a delay of one day. The security team from our country came to Bangladesh, reviewed the entire proceedings before giving the go-ahead. We had a similar situation earlier this year before the Pakistani tour. It was Yashovardhan Azad, again, who had undertaken a recce mission.

Although the security is not what it was in Pakistan, still this has been the tightest that we have seen in Bangladesh. This is a sort of series which may not have a lot of hype like we had in Pakistan, but it is Test cricket and performances count at the international level. The Bangladesh team has not had a great run in international cricket but they will definitely be eager to make a mark in the series. Their reputation is at stake.

There has been a lot of talk about Bangladesh having got Test status early. But one has to realise that they need some time to settle down. They are in the able hands of Dav Whatmore, who is a good coach with a proven record. They have also formed a good system with qualified trainers and coaches looking after their Under-19 set up. With time, they will become a better cricketing unit.

Presently they have some good young players in the form of Saleh and Ashraful. I have watched them play over the last few months, their body language has been positive and with experience they will get better. Habibul Bashar is still their key batsman, and he comes back after a series of injuries. This will definitely help Bangladesh as he has not only been their foremost run-getter in the West Indies and Pakistan, but also their captain.

For us it will be important to maintain our good Test form. We have pushed up to the third position in the international Test cricket ratings after our series win against South Africa. It is important to maintain that and try and push further up in the rankings.

(CafeCricket)

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