Despite his team not having played a Test in nearly 14 months, Bangladesh skipper Habi-bul Bashar exuded confidence that they would come up with a good performance in the Test series against India, beginning here on Friday.
“It is definitely a setback for us that we have not played a Test for such a long time. Had we been able to play some Tests in between, it would have been good for us. But we are mentally ready for the challenge,” Bashar said on Thursday.
“We have played a lot of one-day cricket in the past one year or so and we have some good results to show. We have taken a lot of inspiration from that.
“In this period, a lot of young boys have performed well.
“It is a good sign for us. This is a good chance for some of the youngsters to stand up and be counted,” he said.
Bangladesh’s last Test outing was against Australia, when they crashed to an innings defeat in April 2006.
Bashar said Tushar Imran was ruled out of the first Test due to viral fever, but added that he himself and Mohammad Ashraful had made good recovery. “Imran will not play tomorrow because he has not recovered fully from a viral fever.
“I still have a little bit of a cold, but that is not a major concern. Ashraful has also made good recovery from his fever, and both of us will play.”
Bashar pointed out that the arrival of big names had bolstered the Indian batting line-up and their presence would help the series.
“Players like Sachin, Sourav and Laxman are top performers. The Indians are definitely a better side and they may even win the series.
“Our chance is to get these top players quickly and exert pressure on other batsmen, we will have a chance then,” he said.