There has been plenty of needle between both sides in recent times, but ahead of Bangladesh’s historic Test in India, all the talk veered towards nostalgia and warmth
Mohammad Isam in Hyderabad08-Feb-2017Pockets of nostalgia, renewal of old acquaintances, a welcoming home captain and an inkling of a feisty contest await Bangladesh’s maiden Test in India. Although there has been very little buzz in Hyderabad about this game, the little world that is woven around the two teams in a Test match is excited.A lot of the mood depends on what the players think of the upcoming game. Mushfiqur Rahim started off by saying that he doesn’t think this is a historic Test. But in his first press conference in Uppal, he said that it is a “great occasion”. But it is what India’s captain Virat Kohli said that lent weight to the game.Kohli welcomed Bangladesh to play the Test in India, and has urged them to be invited back again. Given the sometimes touchy relation between the two sides in recent times, this was a humbling gesture.”They haven’t come to India much is what I have really recently found out,” Kohli said. “We have gone to Bangladesh quite a bit. I don’t think they have ever been here for a bilateral before this. It is a historic moment for both the teams, and the countries as well. I hope this can happen much more. We have gone there way too many times, I think they should also start coming here and it will be great for them as well to play in India.”I think it’s a great place to play cricket. Big crowds in, they will certainly enjoy. They had one game in the World T20. I think it should happen more often. It is a special occasion, I just happen to be the captain at this time. It is indeed going to be a special day.”Kohli’s words were starkly opposite to the famous press conference in 2010 when Virender Sehwag termed Bangladesh an “ordinary” side. It drew the ire of Bangladeshi fans, and sparked a number of niggles between the two sides – sometimes caused by an umpiring decision, sledging and even a push.Some have taken it too far but the relations between the two cricketing communities have largely been warm for decades. Coincidentally, it had been the Hyderabad Blues side that was one of the first cricket teams to visit independent Bangladesh.Akram Khan (L) was part of the Bangladesh team that won its maiden international game at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium•AFPHyderabad Blues toured Bangladesh in 1977-78, a year after the MCC became the first international team to tour the country. They went back again in the 1981-82 season when the Calcutta Cricket Club also came to play against Azad Boys Club, a side that took part in the Moin-ud-Dowla Trophy in Hyderabad in 1980.Teams from West Bengal and Hyderabad soon became a regular feature in Bangladesh’s cricket seasons. Hyderabad toured in 1989-90 and 1994-95 while there were invariably tours from Bengal teams in 1982-83, 1983-84 (Aryan Club of Calcutta), 1985-86 and 1991-92.These teams consisted quality first-class players, and then slowly Indian international players like Raman Lamba, Arun Lal and Ashok Malhotra started being regulars in the Dhaka Premier League. There was a special bond between Lamba and the Bangladesh cricket circle; his death while playing for Abahani Limited in 1998 was shocking to the then small community of cricketers.As the turn of the last century approached, Bangladesh’s push for the Test status was championed by Jagmohan Dalmiya, and when they were conferred ICC’s Full Membership in 2000, India agreed to play their Inaugural Test in November that year.Syed Ashraful Huq, who was a close friend of late Dalmiya, is one of the architects of Bangladesh’s rise as a cricket nation. He is traveling to Hyderabad for the occasion, where he will get in touch with his friend PR Mansingh, a treasure trove of Hyderabad cricket.BCB president Nazmul Hassan is also scheduled to arrive ahead of the Test alongside Akram Khan, who was in the Bangladesh team that won its maiden international game at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad.Historically and geographically, Kolkata may have provided the best setting for this Test considering it is a city that shares culture and deep history with Bangladesh. But Hyderabad isn’t too far behind.Everything essentially boils down to the cricket, and so the focus will remain at the Uppal stadium where the hottest team in the circuit will take on a faltering force in this format. Bangladesh has never really pushed India in Tests since entering the scene, although occasionall, the likes of Aminul Islam, Mohammad Ashraful, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Shahadat Hossain have come up with some individual brilliance.Kohli said that Bangladesh just needs more game time in Test cricket to become better in the format, citing their recent ODI upsurge as one that spawned from playing more games of that format. “I think they have the skill, they just don’t play that many Test matches to gain confidence as a Test squad,” he said. “It is very basic. They have become a very good one-day side because of the fact that they have played many one-dayers and they know their combination.”If you don’t play Test cricket too often, you will never understand the mindset. So I think that’s where it comes from. They have beaten all one-day sides because they know exactly how to play that format because they play it regularly. You can practice as much as you want but game time is something different. The more Test cricket they play, ability is going to be there. It’s just the mindset that changes from format to format.”Given India’s allround ability within their squad, Bangladesh will face a major challenge to take them deep into the contest. But being the ninth ranked team, there is not going to be a lot of inward pressure to win in India – New Zealand and England are far superior teams and they were crushed earlier in the season. But what Bangladesh want here is respect as an opponent and these five days is their best opportunity to present their case to the centre of cricket.
