IND vs BAN | Bangladesh a wicket down without Shakib Al Hasan, believes Gautam Gambhir

After Shakib Al Hasan was banned by the ICC for not reporting corrupt approaches, Bangladesh cricket has found itself in complete shambles. The absence of Tamim Iqbal, who is also missing the series due to personal reasons, has made the situation even disastrous for the Bangladeshi unit. While many, including Dean Jones, expect that it could end up galvanizing the team for the future course of action, Gambhir, who had played with Shakib at Kolkata Knight Riders, stated that Bangladesh are already a wicket down and India are 40 without loss in the talisman's absence.

"One way or other, Bangladesh are already a wicket down and India are 40 without loss as that is what Shakib is worth. He was my KKR team-mate and I know what he can do on his day. Before this news came in I was quite certain that this will be a much closer series than the last one against South Africa was. Cricket is a funny game and this incident could end up galvanising the visiting team. Let us see," Gambhir wrote in his column for Times of India.

Pollution in the national capital has already been a huge issue and after Diwali, it escalated to a point that schools and colleges were declared closed until November 5, with people also being advised against jogging and any kind of sporting activities. However, with the T20 around the corner, no preventive measure was taken. Gambhir applauded the visiting Bangladesh side for not making a fuss about it.  

"I'd also like to congratulate Bangladesh for not making too much fuss about the pollution in the Capital. These are not ideal conditions to venture outdoors to forget about playing competitive sport. So well done Tigers," Gambhir wrote.

While climate change and its impact on the sport has been a big point of debate in recent times, cricket is badly in need of its own Docklands facility everywhere. Gambhir believes with Sourav Ganguly at the helm of the affairs of the BCCI, it can change and India might see its first indoor cricket stadium in four to five years.

"I think we are slowly slipping into times when cricket will have an impact of weather beyond rain. This is one of those situations. Indian cricket badly needs its first indoor cricketing arena. Budgets were never an issue and now with Sourav Ganguly in the driver's seat, even intent is taken care of. Don't be surprised if you see India's first-ever indoor cricket or multi-purpose arena in about 4-5 years time. I think more than One-dayers or T20s, Test cricket needs an indoor arena," Gambhir opined.

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