Why Bangladesh’s Indian tour is more than just another Test series

This statement came from the skipper of the Bangladesh side, Mushfiqur Rahim, on being asked about the hype surrounding the one-off Test against India in Hyderabad. Rahim downplayed it and said that he was pretty confident that his team will do well.

Yes, there is no doubt about that. They can do well. Bangladesh cricket has developed. Developed to an extent where the Asian 'minnows' are not considered as push-overs anymore. No country is sending their second-string side to play Bangladesh anymore. Ask India, ask Pakistan, ask South Africa. Bangladesh’s rise as a force to be reckoned with in limited-overs format in last some years has been pretty well-documented.

Although the limited overs cricket started embedding itself into the psyche of the country, success in the whites was elusive. But somewhere in the last three to four years, the cricketing world started watching Bangladesh’s Test journey in a different light. Now the world knows that they can do wonders with spirit and they possess the capability to punch above their weight at times far and few.

So on this account, this Indian tour is an important one for them- to prove their capability in the longest format against the best team in the world, to defy the notion that Bangladesh can’t do well consistently in Tests, to show the world how far they have come over last 17 years- since their first Test match, which was co-incidentally against India as well. 

In November 2000, Bangladesh had made their Test debut in Dhaka. Former Karnataka star Sunil Joshi had shone with both the bat and ball to take India home in that historic Test. After that Test, they played 5-day cricket 33 more times but failed to register a single victory before being 34th time lucky against Zimbabwe in 2005. What they clearly lacked was self-belief and for that, they couldn’t harbor the hope that they could pull off a victory over the established big boys in the league.

But gradually that mentality has undergone a metamorphosis. Their success in the limited-over format helped them garner self-belief that they can go toe-to-toe with the big boys of cricket. Mashrafe Mortaza, who is not playing Test cricket anymore, was able to create an aura around himself thanks to his brilliant tactical nous. The arrival of Chandika Hathurusinghe in 2014 was another important event as the Sri Lankan coach took them to greater heights. 

This belief will now be tested in not-so-unfamiliar conditions of India, where the pitches resemble the ones in Mirpur or Dhaka.  Here they will look forward to add another feather to their caps after their last year’s home performances, where they beat England for the first time in their history. 

But in cricket, it has often been proved that a better bowling attack wins you Tests while a powerful batting order can take the team home in limited-over format. Bangladesh have always depended on their batting in crunch situations. However, times have changed now and now they have a bowling unit capable of taking opposition down on their day. During the 2015 World Cup, Rubel Hossain and Taskin Ahmed bowled well before the arrival of Mustafizur Rahman, whose contribution to the success of Bangladesh in the 50-over game has been unparalleled. But Rahman will not be available for the series as he was given rest to recover from a surgery. 

Bangladesh’s batting stocks have also enough firepower to attack in unison. Tamim Iqbal is currently the team's best batsman and he will be expected to bring his experience to the fold against India’s formidable bowling attack. In recent years, Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, and newcomer Mosaddek Hossain will look to provide stability in the middle-order. The good thing for them is that they have been in good form of late as evidenced by the last home series against England and the tour of New Zealand. That is a good sign for them, coming into the India series.

One major positive for Bangladesh cricket is that they are now playing without the fear of failure, so there is no more a sense of inevitability. The inclusion of fresh talent in the team has a bigger hand in it. This attitude helped them to take on the big boys without the fear of failure and India should be cautious of that. 

The match will mark a full circle for the visitors as after 17 long years since that historic Test in Dhaka, India will host them for the first time. But unlike that team, this Bangladesh will not let the Indians sleep peacefully. They will try to fire with fire and hopefully Mushfiqur Rahim’s “We want to play in such a way that India invites again and again” statement will prove more than a mere statement.

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