There is an air of positivity surrounding the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. There are laughs, a bit of chatter and a lot of smiles as India make their way to the middle to begin preparations for their next game against Bangladesh - an opponent that has tested them over a period of time. India have managed to come out trumps on most occasions but they were in no mood to take the Tigers lightly.
“Bangladesh have been doing good, everybody knows. They played the Asia Cup finals with us. There were other teams like Pakistan and Sri Lanka also, they have beaten them. In this format, you can’t take any team lightly,” Ashish Nehra said on the eve of India’s game against Bangladesh.
“The way Bangladesh have progressed in last 3-4 years is amazing. We have to play to our potential to beat a team like Bangladesh. It’s not like you can take it easy. Nobody is taking Bangladesh lightly and we are looking forward (to the game).”
But Bangladesh are missing a few key members from the squad owing to injuries and a couple of bowlers being reported for suspected bowling action. But Nehra believed that had enough back up to put up a good show - the return of Mustafizur Rahman being one. “Taskin Ahmed has been a very important bowler for them, but at the same time Mustafizur Rahman, who did not play 2-3 matches in between because of a side strain, is back. Then they have Al-Amin. They have depth in bowling. Shakib Al Hasan is a very good all-rounder, so I don’t think their bowling is weakened in any way because of one or two players not being there.”
Nehra had some special praise for young talent Mustafizur, who will be playing alongside him in the IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad. “He has been in really good form and the kind of slower ball he bowls - he’s got a very god-gifted slower ball. He has a very good action and I think he’s a very good future prospect, especially in one-day cricket and T20 cricket. The good thing is, in the IPL he’s in my team, so definitely it will be a help for me as well.”
Talking about India’s mood in the camp, especially after their win against Pakistan, Nehra said the mood was positive and the team was looking forward to the challenge. “We are very confident,” he said. “We have played good cricket in the last 2-3 months and hopefully the kind of firepower we have, if we deliver, we’ll definitely win the game. This format everybody knows, from game one, more or less every game is a knockout game. Only two teams will qualify and there is a possibility out of four games you win three, still you won’t qualify. So till the time you don’t lift the trophy, every game is a knockout game and there’s not too much room for error. We are taking one game at a time. First we have to win the game against Bangladesh and we are concentrating on that.”
