Hathurusingha Bangladesh head coach, is hopeful that his team's

Hathurusingha Bangladesh head coach, is hopeful that his team's

Chandika Hathurusingha, Bangladesh's head coach, is hopeful that his team's maiden Test series win over Pakistan will hold his side in great stead in the upcoming series against India. He feels the added weight of expectation from his side is an honor for a team which he believes is well adjusted.

"It (the win in Pakistan) certainly gives us a great deal of confidence coming into this series," he said on Monday. "Not because of the result of the series, it's the way we played that series where we handled certain situations. We were behind the game in both Tests and then the way in which we came back and how various individuals who contributed at various times. A ton of confidence in this series. I think this is probably the most adjusted team that's created from Bangladesh.

"We have got great fast bowlers, we got a really experienced spin attack. And then in batting, we actually have great batting profundity because of two reasons. One is that two of our spinners are genuine batters who have got Test hundreds and then two of our wicketkeepers are our main batters. So the batters in our team for this series are great and that gives us a ton of confidence that we can be cutthroat in this series.

"Pressure is an honor. I mean it gives us significantly more conviction and something to look forward as well. However at that point we really understand where we stand and our strengths and limitation, we understand that. However, we are really encouraged by playing the best team on the planet. Like coming to India and playing against India, that's the best challenge you get nowadays in cricket. So playing against the best always gives you the perception of where you stand."

Indeed, even as the greater challenge will be against the spinners for both the teams, neither will be too shy to admit that their pacers will also have a critical task to carry out. Hathurusingha believes the ongoing pace unit that Bangladesh possess is a side-effect of a great deal of hard work, and especially praised the new sensation Nahid Rana.

"The point of contrast is the fear factor. I mean when a ball comes at 150kph, it's exceptionally human to require a certain reaction time, so it challenges your reaction and decision-making. So, that's an advantage when you have someone who can bowl that rapidly," said Hathurusingha.

"The speciality of Nahid is that he can bowl at 145-plus for a longer (timeframe). In any case, he's played almost no cricket, so we have to care for him. That's an advantage regardless of the pitch and situation that he brings the fear factor to the opposition and especially when the tailenders come, you can clear them out faster. It's a long process. It just didn't happen all of a sudden. Previous coaches before me have done a great deal of work and even the board invested in programs at finding fast bowlers. I realize the domestic cricket had some rules that you have to keep an amount of grass (for pacers). They changed the ball (in domestic cricket). So all these factors, I think, helped the fast bowlers to partake in their cricket and have success. And we have a couple of fast bowlers back home and actually one of our best bowlers is still injured. So, when all of these guys are available, it's really pleasing to see the profundity we have in fast bowling," he said.

 Shakib Al Hasan will join the team tonight

Hathurusingha is also confident that veteran spinner Shakib Al Hasan will actually want to dictate terms as he did in the past with the ball in the upcoming series against India. The left-arm spinner has been used sparingly in the longest format, spending a lot of time playing T20 tournaments for franchises around the world. While his teammates were practicing red-ball cricket at home, Shakib was involved in the Global T20 ahead of the as of late concluded tour of Pakistan. He displayed glimpses of his skill by picking three crucial wickets against Pakistan in the second innings of the opening Test yet only managed to bag six wickets in the two-match Test series in total.

To address his dunk in form with the ball lately in Test cricket, Shakib selected to play for Surrey in the Area Championship after the Pakistan series. In a match against Somerset at Taunton, he took nine wickets, bowling 33.5 overs in the first innings and 29.3 in the second. "He (Shakib) is looking good so he brings a ton into the team, even apart from his skillset," Hathurusingha pointed out.

"Shakib has always played an enormous part in Bangladesh cricket whenever he is available. Obviously, he gives us the privilege to balance the team the way we want, whether we want to play an extra bowler or an extra batter, his all-round capability helps us in that. He keeps that adaptability as well as his colossal experience.