“We are not scared of anyone, but…”: India head coach Gautam Gambhir ahead of Bangladesh Test

Ahead of the first Test match against Bangladesh, Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir said that his team is “not afraid of anyone” but “respects everyone.” The two-match Test series between India and Bangladesh will begin on September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Currently, Team India leads the WTC standings with 68.52 points percentage. Their upcoming WTC series includes Bangladesh (two Tests, home), New Zealand (three Tests, home) and Australia (five Tests, away). Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Gambhir congratulated Bangladesh on their two-match Test series win against Pakistan. He praised Nazmul Hossain Shanto’s team, calling them a great team.

Gambhir said, “I have always believed that we are not afraid of anyone, rather we respect everyone. It is the same with Bangladesh. We do not pay attention to the opposition; we play the game we know. I congratulate them for their performance in Pakistan. But this is a new series and they are a great team, so we want to play good cricket. Yes, they have experience in the form of Shakib, Mushfiqur and Mehdi, but we want to be ready from the first ball.”

The Bangladesh team is in great form, defeating Pakistan 2-0 to win a Test series for the first time on Pakistani soil. The Bengal Tigers registered a big win in the first Test by 10 wickets and followed it up with a six-wicket win in the second Test.

When asked about the possibility of including Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan in the playing XI, Gambhir said opportunities will be there but the players will have to wait for their turn.

He said, “We don’t leave anyone out. We only pick those players who fit into the playing XI. We believe in picking the playing XI. Jurel is a great player, but when Pant is coming, sometimes people have to wait. It is the same with Sarfaraz. Opportunities will come, but you have to wait.”

The second Test match between India and Bangladesh will be played in Kanpur from September 27.

India Squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.

Bangladesh squad: Nazmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Kumar Das, Mehdi Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Zaker Ali Anik.

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