Bangladesh mature enough to ‘beat’ any team: Rohit Sharma

Bangladesh cricket’s latest turmoil has left them in the doldrums. The suspension of Shakib Al Hasan has jolted them badly. The Tigers are in India for a full-fledged series and not many have given them much of a chance to come out victorious. The opening T20I is scheduled to take place on Sunday, November 3 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi and the visiting team will be up against it.

Apart from Shakib, Bangladesh have also lost Mohammad Saifuddin and Tamim Iqbal. Even as the former pulled out due to a back injury, the left-handed Tamim won’t be there in order to attend his pregnant wife. Despite the Tigers missing a few of their important players, Rohit Sharma, the stand-in skipper of the Indian team, believes that the visitors have the firepower in their ranks.

Bangladesh is a very very good team, says Rohit

Rohit lauded Mahmudullah and Co, saying that the word ‘upset’ shouldn’t be used with their cricket. “I understand there are two key players missing [in their side] but they still have quality players that can upset any team. I wouldn’t say ‘upset’. I would say ‘beat’. That’s a good word to use. They are very mature cricketers now,” Rohit was quoted as saying in ESPNcricinfo.

On head to head count, India have gotten the better of Bangladesh on all eight occasions. But a few of the matches went right down to the wire where the Tigers could easily have gotten over the finishing line. The two teams have been involved in some riveting encounters even in the ODIs.

Their last meeting in the format was in the final of the Nidahas Trophy where Dinesh Karthik’s last-ball six off Soumya Sarkar with five runs needed sealed the deal for India. Rohit understands the threat Bangladesh poses and also remembers the times when they put India under pressure.

“Bangladesh is a very very good team. Over the years, we have seen how they have performed not just at home but also away whenever they have gone out. Especially against us, they have always put us under pressure. There is no way we look at this team differently,” he added.

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