Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has promised that the visitors will show an aggressive brand of cricket when they take on India in the first of the three T20Is. This match will be played in Gwalior on October 6.
The next two T20Is will be played in Delhi on October 9 and in Hyderabad on October 12.
Bangladesh is coming off a 2-0 drubbing by India in the recent Test series. However, captain Shanto promised on Friday that his new-look team will play an aggressive brand of cricket in the upcoming T20 series against India, saying that the Test series defeat is now behind them.
“We are looking to win this series, to be very honest. We want to play aggressive cricket. If you look at our last World Cup, we had a very good opportunity to play in the semi-finals but we couldn’t do that. But, it’s a new team. So, I hope all the players will play some good cricket here,” Shanto told reporters.
The skipper said he won’t think about his team’s struggle in the Test series.
“We all know we didn’t play our best cricket (in Tests). So, we are not thinking about what we have done before. Going forward, it’s a very important series for us and we all know in T20 it’s a totally different ball game. That particular day, those who are playing well will win the match,” he added.
Both India and Bangladesh will field new-look teams, with seniors giving way to younger players. Shanto stated that because the series opener will be played in an unfamiliar venue, pitch behavior may be unpredictable.
“We know this is a very different ground, new ground and we don’t have much idea about the wickets. But, we had practice sessions the last couple of days and we tried to find out how the wickets behave. We don’t know how the surface will behave. But, as an international team, we need to adjust as early as possible,” Shanto said.
Shanto was hopeful that his team would be able to turn it around in the T20 series.
He said: “In T20Is, you never know. It’s important that on that day, batting, bowling, fielding, those who are doing all the stuff well, that team will win. But, it’s not about big names or new players or old players. So, it’s important that particular day we need to play well.”
(PTI inputs)
