"Don't Talk About Pakistan": Bangladesh Star's Request Ahead Of India Tests

The Bangladesh men's cricket team, after a historic series win against Pakistan, is already gearing up for the next challenge, a 2-Test assignment against India. The victory for Bangladesh against Pakistan was historic from points of views, but the team's star of the series, Litton Das, is keen to not talk about his side's results against Pakistan, but rather the upcoming challenge against India. During a chat with the media, Litton even urged reporters to not ask questions about the Pakistan win as that is in the past.

The fact that Bangladesh already want to focus on the matches against India and move past the euphoria of Pakistan win, speaks about a mental shift that was rarely seen before.

"We have played very well against Pakistan. That is already in the past," Litton said while speaking to reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Tuesday. "Obviously, very important (to leave the Pakistan series behind) and you (the media) also need to help a bit. It would be better if you don't talk too much about the Pakistan series. There is a big challenging series ahead (against India). For me as a player, that is in the past (Pakistan Series). But we definitely gained confidence from that."

Das admitted that the India assignment will be a challenging one for his team, considering Rohit Sharma's men would be playing at home.

"When we play India at their home, they are always the better side. I wouldn't say it will be extremely challenging or very easy. They are a very good team in their own conditions. If you look at the rankings, they are so high up. So I think it will be a challenging series for us," he said.

"India is a big team and the ball will also change," Litton observed. "We rarely play with that ball. It will be challenging. The players are working very hard.

Moments from Litton Das' press conference. | #BCB #Bangladesh #INDvsBAN pic.twitter.com/8PWNJZyaEJ — Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) September 10, 2024

Litton also sees the SG ball as a big challenge for Bangladesh to overcome.

"As for preparation, we are facing the main bowlers as much as we can. The SG ball is somewhat difficult. It's tough to play with the Kookaburra when the ball is new, but it's easier to play once the ball is old. However, with the SG ball, playing with the new ball is somewhat easier, but playing with the old ball is tougher. We are practicing, let's see what happens."

"We need to focus on this. In Test cricket, you have to win sessions. Every session is important. Personally I feel we couldn't play our 100% in the first sessions. There is room for a big improvement here," he said.