Nic Pothas, Bangladesh fielding coach, admitted that the visitors got to learn a lot from the "world's best team" India, who put his side under tremendous pressure throughout the Test and T20I series.
Bangladesh arrived in India on the heels of a Test series victory over Pakistan but was swiftly dragged back down to earth by the home team, which easily won both Test and T20I rubbers.
"When you look at the bowling and the batting, one thing India will always do to you is put you under immense pressure because of the level of skill they have. India lets you know where you have to improve," said Pothas in the pre-match press meet.
Pothas said Bangladesh needs to be "honest" in their self-assessment after such a tour where they suffered some heavy defeats. India won the first Test by 280 runs in Chennai and the second Test in Kanpur by 7 wickets in only two days as rain washed away the better part of the match.
India then won the first T20I by 7 wickets and the second by 86 runs to pocket the series 2-0.
"We are very fortunate to be touring India because you can get a lot of learning done. And the learning has to be honest. The learning is how do you absorb pressure for longer periods of time? How do you read the game better under pressure for longer periods of time?
But most importantly how do you prepare? And that has to evolve, that has to change all the time. But it is a privilege to play in India because when you play the world's best team, they help you understand where you need to improve," he added.
Pothas held the "underperforming" batters responsible for his side's defeat in the three-match T20I series against India.
"We are playing against a phenomenal opposition in their own country. Yes, we have some experience along the way but I agree with you, from a batting point of view, we have underperformed according to our expectations. You can take performance and an outcome as two different conversations but, yes, we would have liked to get 170, 180 here," he noted.
Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah will soon retire from international cricket, and Pothas anticipated that the veterans will remain in Bangladesh cricket to impart their knowledge to the next generation.
"I would imagine having played international cricket for the length of time they have and performed to the high level that they have, I think the most important thing that we need to acknowledge is that they have forged a path for young cricketers to follow.
With any luck, they are going to be around to help in whatever capacity but to be able to pass on that experience to make the next generation better. Bangladesh has been very fortunate to have cricketers of their caliber play for that length of time and as a group and as a country we wish them the best of luck," he said.
(ANI inputs)
