‘The way India are playing in this World Cup is scary’: Bangladesh coach Hathurusingha wary of Rohit, Bumrah firepower
The ICC World Cup 2023 has seen a lot of upsets this past week. In the history of the ODI World Cup, Afghanistan was the first team to defeat the reigning champions England, and the Netherlands followed suit against the formidable South Africans.
Actually, it shouldn’t be considered a “upset” if Bangladesh defeats India on Thursday in Pune. Bangladesh has prevailed in three of the last four meetings between the two teams. In the Asia Cup last month, they were the only team to defeat. Chandika Hathurusingha, the head coach of Bangladesh, nevertheless thinks India should start as the favorites.
He knows very well that when India lost to Bangladesh in that meaningless Asia Cup match, they rested as many as five players from their starting XI, and that their two other victories came in Mirpur, which is essentially a fortress for Bangladesh. He is aware that playing in a World Cup will be very different.
“First off, while we have recently defeated India, the World Cup is a completely different ballgame. Since India is likely the most improved team this World Cup, if we play to our potential and they have a poor game, I think it will be a good game for us, and we are capable of doing that.
As I mentioned earlier, we are hoping to have a complete game against them. We’ve demonstrated it, so we can start [well] at the beginning with confidence and memory. So, we must get off to a good start,” he said on the eve of the match.
When asked to talk about the strengths of the Indian side, Hathurusingha said the brand of cricket that India are playing in this World Cup is “scary”.
“I believe they have addressed every topic. They started with strike bowlers. Bumrah is nearly at his peak, comparable to what we have witnessed in the past. Additionally, they have skilled and knowledgeable spinners who bowl in the middle overs. They appear to be enjoying their cricket right now, their home World Cup, and the strong support they are receiving. Their batting, particularly in the top order, is clicking, and it’s frightening how fearlessly they are playing at this point. Thus, in my opinion, the team is excellent overall,” he remarked.
India’s brutal performances have seen them defeat Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Australia. They fielded first in each of these games and held the opposition to a low total before the batsmen, captained by the brilliant Rohit Sharma, went out to easily reach the target.
Shakib remains a big doubt
Shakib al Hasan, the captain of Bangladesh, is recovering from a left quadriceps ailment. He had a good net session, but Hathurusingha insisted that the star all-rounder will only play in the World Cup match against India if he feels fully fit.
“Shakib had a successful batting practice yesterday. He also ran a little bit in between the wickets. We are awaiting the scan’s outcome from today. His bowling hasn’t been tested by us yet. We’ll evaluate him in the morning and make a choice,” Hathurusingha stated.
“We won’t take a chance if he isn’t prepared to play. There’s a chance he plays tomorrow (Thursday), if he’s ready,” the coach continued.
