With the ODI business finally settled and the world cup bad memories somewhat in the background now, the India-Bangladesh saga heads for more serious times. The test series starts on Friday at Chittagong where the third ODI was completely washed out. India won the series 2-0 by the way.

Of course it was a great disappointment for many people and not only just the fans. The Bangladeshi cricket supporters have always been fanatic about the game and especially when India comes calling, the stadiums fill up without too much trouble. But the most disappointed would be the ones that go out into the middle to duel with the bat and the ball. Leading the list from the Bangladeshi side would be their captain and coach. Habibul Bashar’s term as ODI captain comes to an end with this series and he would have liked to play & win one last match at his home ground. Similarly, for Dave Whatmore, as he is also leaving this particular job after this tour is over. Since India and Pakistan are both interested in his services, he would have liked to impress his suitors one last time by beating India. Come on guys, Bangladesh can beat India.

Disappointment would be rife among the Indians too. Ravi Shastri wanted a 3-0 score line and after what happened at the world cup, one doesn’t blame him for that burning desire. Rahul Dravid would have wanted to go for the kill ahead of the tests and gotten a feel of the ground too. Robin Uthappa and RP Singh would be feeling low too as they missed their only chance of impressing the selectors on this tour. The next series is in England and how would the team selection go is anybody’s guess now.

The reason for this talk about team selection now concerns one man most. Virender Sehwag’s time seems to be running out finally. This was his last chance to go on to score a big one, to actually capitalize on his starts, before the selectors sit down to select the squad for England since he will be missing the test series and thus the washout has made his loss the biggest. Since Dravid made amply clear that he was now getting highly dissatisfied with Viru’s contributions, it is safe to assume that there will now be only two outcomes when the selectors sit the next time. Either he is going to be dropped which is highly unlikely since this match has been washed out or he will be given one last chance to prove his abilities again on English turf. But this time unlike any other, it will be his last chance. It’s really sad to see such a talent going waste.

Moving on, Indian test selections have arrived in the form of Sachin, Sourav, VVS Laxman, Anil kumble, Rajesh Powar and VRV Singh. And if you call these reinforcements, then it would be better for Bangladesh to hand over the test series on a platter to the Indians. Because this is the real test for the ‘young ones’ of international cricket. Bangladesh might be able to beat the best teams in the shorter versions of the game but their improvements will be put to the test (pun intended) in the longer version of the game. This is where we will see whether they really have taken the next step or not. Unless they are able to challenge the Indians the same way as they did in the ODIs, they will continue to be the minnows of world cricket. Time for some serious action now.

Via: Cricinfo

Via: BBC Sport