Bangladesh tour of India: Tough weeks in store for B'desh in India, says Dinesh Karthik
With a confident Bangladesh team riding high on the back of its recent Test series win against Pakistan, Karthik emphasised how tough it is for any visiting team to beat India at home.
Srinadh Chitoori, Dinesh Karthik, Aishwarya Rajesh, Michael Bevan, Parthiv Patel, Kedar Jadhav
CHENNAI: As India gears up for its busy Test schedule starting off playing against Bangladesh in a two-Test series, former India player Dinesh Karthik weighed in on the challenges Bangladesh will face on Indian soil.
With a confident Bangladesh team riding high on the back of its recent Test series win against Pakistan, Karthik emphasised how tough it is for any visiting team to beat India at home.
"Bangladesh will be high on confidence following its success in Pakistan. For India it's about understanding that they are playing a slightly different Bangladesh team. But, India in India is a different kettle of fish. It’s not going to be as simple as going outside and beating other countries in their home. I’m sure Bangladesh will have its challenges in the next couple of weeks in India,” said Dinesh, speaking on the sidelines of the Legends League Cricket’s Southern Superstars franchise event.
This series will be India’s first outing in the long format under the tutelage of its head coach, Gautam Gambhir, under whom the team played a tour in Sri Lanka in which they swept the T20 series (3-0) but lost in the ODIs (0-2).
Speaking about the role of Gambhir in shaping the team ahead of the new Test season, Dinesh said, “He (Gautam) has the acumen to understand the pulse of the game, which is very important for a coach. He is in an embryonic stage right now, so it’s going to be interesting how he evolves out, but I’m fully confident that he will deliver on all counts. He's been good at everything he has taken up so far."
The Test will also mark the comeback of Rishabh Pant, who will don the whites after nearly two years since his life-threatening accident. Dhruv Jurel, who got his maiden India call-up in the recent England series will be Pant's understudy for the wicket-keeper slot.
With the likes of Pant, Jurel, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson vying for the wicket-keeper spot across formats, the former Indian 'keeper believes that having abundant resources for one spot is a good sign for the future of Indian cricket. “It’s a very healthy place for Indian cricket; not many countries have the privilege that India has in terms of the amount of options available for any spot in the Indian team."