Former Indian national cricket team batsman Suresh Raina has issued a stern warning to the Rohit Sharma-led team ahead of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home.
While most of the Indian team players are currently engaged in domestic cricket ahead of the high-profile red-ball season, veterans like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bhooma have been handed over to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the remainder of the season.
While several Indian stars will be playing in the upcoming Dulip Trophy 2024, the likes of Bhumla, Rohit and Kohli will be seen playing in the series against Bangladesh instead of playing in the tournament.
Bangladesh are currently playing a two-match Test series against Shan Masood’s side in Pakistan and will travel to India for a Test match after the series concludes.
The series between India and Bangladesh will consist of two Test matches, with the first of the match starting on September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, and the second starting on September 27 at the Green Park in Kanpur.
The Nazmul Hossain Shanto-led side will pose a major threat to India given their spin bowling attack and they showed that they are not an easy opponent by any means as they defeated Pakistan by 10 wickets in the first Test match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium recently.
Coach Suresh Raina has issued a strong warning to Rohit Sharma’s players as he knows Bangladesh are a good team.
Bangladesh have a great spin bowling attack so they can’t be taken lightly – Suresh Raina warns Rohit Sharma
Suresh Raina, speaking on the sidelines of the Legends League cricket event, welcomed the BCCI’s move to mandate top players to play in the Duleep Trophy ahead of the long red-ball season.
He also warned Rohit Sharma and his team-mates not to take Bangladesh lightly as they have spinners like Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraj and Mahedi Hasan who could pose a potential threat.
“Now the team will be formed for the Tests. It is a good initiative by BCCI to have top players playing Duleep Trophy. They will learn a lot by playing red-ball cricket,” Raina was quoted as saying by ANI.
“Bangladesh cannot be taken lightly as they have a great spin bowling attack and some good players who have been performing well for a long time. This series will be a good practice match for the Australia tour,” said former India international Suresh Raina.
After the Bangladesh Test match, India will play a three-match Test series at home against New Zealand before travelling to Australia to take part in the thrilling 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Meanwhile, Suresh Raina spoke further about Rishabh Pant and said the wicketkeeper-batsman is doing a great job.
Pant in particular played a key role in India’s T20 World Cup triumph, scoring the team’s third-highest number of runs and setting a record for most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in a single T20 World Cup.
“The way he practises, he is doing very good wicket-keeping, he is batting very well. You will know how much fun it will be if he wins the World Cup,” Suresh Raina added.
