Tigers look to remain 'calm' in India contest
Bangladesh will be looking to remain calm on the field and execute their plans well to get off to a winning start in the ICC Champions Trophy when they square off against India in the opening Group A fixture at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium today.
Despite not having had an ideal preparation for the tournament with a loss against Pakistan Shaheens in the only warm-up game and having last played a 50-over game two months ago in the Caribbean, the Tigers will be hoping to get into the groove of the format quickly in a bid to upstage favourites India, who have featured in four out of the eight finals in the tournament's history.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. However, Bangladesh's quest of beating India in a major ICC event for the first time since 2007 would be a tall ask, especially given the opposition's 3-0 home series win against England recently.
"Of course, there is a lot of excitement in India and Bangladesh. I think the players are not worried about this. They are focused on how to execute their plans. They only think about how calm they can stay on the field," Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto said at the pre-match press conference prior to a training session at the ICC Academy Oval 2 Ground.
While most cricketers were in jovial mood and honed their skills with both bat and ball during the two-and-a-half-hours' session, veteran Mahmudullah not being involved in any batting drills and only having chitchats with selector Abdur Razzak raised eyebrows.
Mahmudullah had also skipped batting during the warm-up game on Monday. When senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin was asked whether the 39-year-old had any injury issues or if it was just a ploy by the cricketer to remain calm before the big contest, the experienced coach didn't divulge much info on the issue, just saying: "He is okay. Nothing to worry about."
The India team, on the other hand, trained at the main stadium in the afternoon. Out of the nine wickets at the venue of which three remained under cover, Indian bowlers, especially their spinners, were seen practising at one of the uncovered wickets, while others were mostly engaged in running, football drills and warm-ups.
However, the Indian team arrived late to the training session due to heavy traffic, deferring the scheduled press meet of captain Rohit Sharma by 35 minutes.
Indian journalists mostly questioned Rohit on the team's chances of winning the title, skipping any question regarding the Bangladesh game. The India media manager, too, did not allow any Bangladeshi journalist to ask anything about the match.
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