Bangladesh have done well but we will have the upper hand: Cheteshwar Pujara

Team India has played Bangladesh on a lot of occasions in the past but they will want to be double sure this time since they are the No.1 Test side in the world at the moment. Visiting teams have remarkably struggled to tackle spin in India especially with their spin twin Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja bowling exceptionally as a pair. But Cheteshwar Pujara doesn’t want to take the opponent lightly.

He said though Bangladesh have done well against England playing at home but it won’t be easy for them to tackle the No.1 Test team. “They (Bangladesh) have been playing well in the subcontinent, they have done well against England, so we cannot take them lightly but at the same time we have played very good cricket in 2016 so probably we would stick to the same thing.”

Showing confidence in the unit he said that the team having done well in 2016 where they beat teams like South Africa, New Zealand, England at home and West Indies in West Indies will look to just continue playing with the similar level of consistency.

“We are the No.1 team in the world at the moment and we would like to maintain that. We just want to repeat what we did in 2016 this year as well and when it comes to strategy we will have a chat later on but if we play good cricket we can definitely beat them.” Pujara said.

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Since his current association is just restricted to the Indian team he had a bit of a break before resuming duty and the team will now play five Tests in a row, one against Bangladesh and four against the Aussies. He played the D.Y Patil T20 tournament and scored a hundred and a century to keep his touch in the period with no international assignments.

Pujara thinks a hectic schedule isn’t something professional cricketers should be complaining about because that is what they love doing.

“It is always good to play cricket even if the schedule is a bit hectic, we are all young and enjoy playing cricket sometimes obviously we need to have a break this was the time where before we head into five Test matches the one off against Bangladesh and four Test matches against Australia we had a break. Most of us have been playing some cricket or the other, but we have rested well, are fresh and looking forward to this Test series,” the 29-year-old said.

While all the touring teams have failed to get used to the conditions in India it will be a lot easier for Bangladesh since the wicket will more or less be similar to the ones they play on back home. Pujara expects it to be a fair contest for both the teams but the hosts will have the edge given they have really dominated oppositions in the last year or so especially at home.

“It will be a fair contest when we tour Bangladesh we have a similar experience like playing in India probably for them I don’t think the conditions will matter a lot whoever plays good cricket will have an opportunity to win the game. But I think we will have the upper with the way we have played cricket in the 2016.”

One of the major revelations for the team was the performance of the fast bowlers especially Umesh Yadav who played all the Tests this season and the contribution of the lower order with the bat. The likes of Ashwin, Jadeja and Jayant Yadav make for a very handy lower order for the Indian team.

“Our fast bowlers bowled well, the lower order contributed and the batsmen are generally batting well so probably one thing I believe that if we play as a team and to our potential we have an upper hand in the game.”

When asked about Bangladesh’s spin sensation Mehedi Hasan, Pujara said he has seen his videos from the England series, he certainly thinks assistance from the wicket helped him stun the English batsmen the way he did. But will only be in a better position to assess his bowling once he faces the 19-year-old.

“That was a different wicket altogether. I have seen him bowl a little against England, he looks like a good bowler but I will know better once I face him. That was a different wicket all together there was a lot of turn for the spinners on that particular wicket, he bowled well in both the Tests. But I cannot talk much about his bowling not having faced him, will talk in details once I face him.” He concluded saying.