Bangladesh needs more Test match experience before it can be truly competitive in the format, believes former Team India director, Ravi Shastri.
“What they lack is experience, the ability to sustain [a good effort over a long period], and that's what they will gain with tours like this,” he said here on Tuesday.
“They are very good in the one-day game. Because the attention span doesn't have to be that much; you don't have to concentrate for long periods of time. In Tests, they have the skill to be very good in a session or two, but not over a day or two or three days in order to win or dominate a Test match. They have the talent; there's no doubting their skill. The passion for the game in that country is unbelievable. This is good exposure.”
Shastri was speaking at an event to promote sports apparel brand Zeven. The 54-year-old was asked if India should face Bangladesh – set to play its first Test match on Indian soil in Hyderabad from Thursday – more often in the longer format.
“I don't think it's a question of playing them more often. It's about Bangladesh giving India a contest,” he said. “That's what one wants to see in this Test match. They've got a great opportunity; they've made rapid strides in the shorter formats of the game. India will not take them lightly. India are going to take no prisoners; it might be Bangladesh or Zimbabwe but a job has to be done, which is to win the game.”
On current Indian Test squad
Shastri felt the current Indian side was one of the most confident teams he had seen. Asked for his view on K. L. Rahul, Shastri advocated patience.
“You've got be patient with Rahul,” he said. “He's got something special; he's a serious talent but give him time. Rahul has to understand his own game, which he's doing now. It's when K. L. Rahul tries to be somebody else that the problems start for him. He's got tremendous potential.”
Facing Australia
Less than two weeks after the one-off tie against Bangladesh, India will expect to face a considerably harder challenge when it meets Australia in the first of four Tests.
“Australia will be a little more aggressive than England,” Shastri said. “Having said that, we know how good India are at home. If the ball turns, which I see it doing in quite a few venues, Australia will have to be at their best. Otherwise they will be no different from England.”
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