Habibul Bashar wishes for more India-Bangladesh matches

What’s the story?

Former Bangladesh skipper Habibul Bashar has asked for more Test matches to be played between India and Bangladesh, stating that the passion for the game in his home country was enormous as was the case in India as well.

"The passion for cricket in Bangladesh has always been huge.The same is the case with India as well. I am hoping that is what will happen in Hyderabad as well. I think we (both the teams) should play more cricket as there is a lot of viewer interest," Bashar told the Times of India in an interview.

When asked about his side’s chances against India in the one-off Test, Bashar felt that the Mushfiqur Rahim-led side would give the Indians a good fight in the game.

"Between Bangladesh and India, the conditions and wickets are pretty much the same. Last few years, if you see, Bangladesh has played very well at home. Playing in India is like playing at home," he said.

In case you didn’t know..

In the 17-year international cricket history, Bangladesh have had many captains, but the one who had an impact on the way they played their game was Bashar. He led the side to their 1st ever Test win against Zimbabwe in 2005, captained the side to a historic ODI win over Australia the same year and in 2007, led the side to the Super Sixes stage of the 50-over World Cup, en route which they beat India and dented their chances of progressing deep into the competition.

The heart of the matter

Ever since making their debut in international cricket in 2000, Bangladesh have played Test matches in every country except for India. While in the initial years they found the going tough against some of most renowned units in the game, the last 5-6 years have seen them show steady progress, particularly in home conditions, where their spinners have tasted a lot of success.

What’s next?

Ahead of the game starting in Hyderabad on Thursday, Bangladesh will take on a strong India A side in a two-day warm-up game in Secundrabad starting from the 5^th of February. The match will present the team with a good opportunity to get some match practice ahead of the Test match and the likes of Rahim, Shakib-Al-Hasan etc will look to do well in the game and begin their tour on a confident note.

Sportskeeda’s take

While it would be great to see both teams play more often, the fact remains that in a packed calendar, India will find it hard to play them in a full-fledged series either at home or away.