Tigers depart with high hopes

Pictured with his daughter before departing with the team to Hyderabad yesterday, Shakib Al Hasan's (L) all-round exploits will be in high demand as well as Mahmudullah Riyad's (R) middle-order contributions when the one-off Test starts on February 9. PHOTOS: FIROZ AHMED

Bangladesh Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim tried to suppress the hype surrounding the one-off Test against India as he was not ready to give the trip to India the 'historic' tag. Instead, he stated that they were going to Hyderabad to play just another Test match.

But one could feel the excitement surrounding the tour when talking to the players, especially the young brigade of the team, at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport before the Tigers' departure for Hyderabad yesterday. “I'm excited as we are going to play a Test in India for the first time. I will try to make it a memorable one if I get the chance. It will be a big thing for us if we can do something there and I believe the pressure will be on India as there is only one match,” said left-handed batsman Soumya Sarkar.

Young players like Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed were well aware of the fact that it would be a tough task to challenge India at home but they were very confident and eager to do well on this tour that is going to finally fulfil Bangladesh's dream of playing a Test series in India. “It's a big Test match for us and definitely I will not leave any stone unturned to make it a memorable one if I ultimately get the opportunity to play this match. The only thing I can say is that I will give my best,” said Taskin.

Miraz was not only looking forward to bowling well in conditions which will most likely favour spin but he will also try to take some bowling tips from number one bowler Ravichandran Ashwin while pacer Subhashis Roy was looking forward to the scalp of celebrated India skipper Virat Kohli, much like Kamrul Islam Rabbi.

Bangladesh's bowling attack will face a stiff challenge against the vaunted Indian batting line-up but everybody was confident that success will come against the home side if they can bowl in the right areas. “We must be consistent and bowl in the right area because they have good batsmen. I believe the pitch will favour spin bowlers and we also have some good spinners in the team,” said Miraz.

“Ashwin is a world-class player. I will try to take some tips from him after the match and I will also follow his bowling in the match and I believe this experience will help in my career,” he continued. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam also emphasised on bowling in the right spot to bring success and he found no reason to be worried if India provides a spinning track.

“We have good spinners in the team and I hope there will be no problems if we get a spinning track. Our batsmen are also now confident and some of our key batsmen returned to the team having recovered from injury. The main thing is we will need to bowl in the right areas,” said Taijul, who went wicket-less in his only Test against India at Fatullah in 2015.

“Personally I am very happy as I can go with the team on this historic tour. If the team management gives me the chance and I can pick up the wicket of one of the world's best batsman Virat Kohli, nothing would be better than that,” said Subhashis.