There is a vast gap between Bangladesh and India in Test cricket and Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha is also aware of the fact but ruled out the claims that they will play for a draw. He made it clear that they will play for a win although he was concerned over the state of the pitch. Below are excerpts of the pre-match press conference held at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium yesterday.
Will Bangladesh play for a draw?
We always play to win, so we cannot say we want to draw the Test match. The plan doesn’t change against any team. Our plan is to win every game we play.
What will be the combination of the playing XI?
Can’t go into too many details about the composition of our team at the moment. We are going to play the combination which we think will win us the game. That’s what we have planned at this stage. We haven’t even announced the team to the players yet.
Do you expect the competition to be easy given Bangladesh is boosted with confidence with results from the Pakistan series?
India is a very strong team and we are behind in experience in Test and ODI cricket. We are improving every day, playing good cricket. We will compete within our strength.
Your opinion on the wicket?
There’s a lot of cut grass on the wicket. I don’t know how it is going to behave. I have never seen this kind of wicket. Either you have a lot of grass on the wicket or no grass. It is unusual. They have a bit of cut grass on top of the wicket. I don’t know how it is going to work. I have no idea to predict this wicket. For the first time we have no control over what type of wicket this will be. We will try to select the team that gives us best chance to take 20 wickets.