Shakib Al Hasan has laid down the gauntlet to Australia by boldly stating Bangladesh feel "very much unbeatable at home".
Australia will face off against Bangladesh in Test cricket for the first time in 11 years, with a two-match series between the teams beginning in Dhaka on Sunday.
Bangladesh has shown its mettle in the five-day format by drawing 1-1 in a home series with England last year and earning the same result in Sri Lanka.
Shakib – ranked as the top all-rounder by the ICC – says Bangladesh has taken a new approach in its cricket and does not fear any opponent.
"Previously the mindset was to draw against big teams – try to play five days, make a draw," he told The Guardian.
"But we never used to get the result. Then we started thinking, 'let's try to win – let's try to play and win the game'. It's the mindset that changed, and that made us believe that we can win.
"It's been a long journey. It's been incredible. I don't think many people thought – even in Bangladesh – that we can come this far.
"We knew that we have this ability, and we needed that belief, and we can only get this belief by winning matches.
"But there is no shortage of self-belief at this moment … Now we feel that we are very much unbeatable at home – doesn't matter who we are playing against.
"So this is the belief that makes a team a very good team, and a winning team."
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