Gavaskar warns Rohit Sharma to be wary of Bangladesh after last scare in Pakistan

Sunil Gavaskar has issued a warning to Rohit Sharma about underestimating the Bangladesh team as they prepare to face off in the first Test of a two-match series starting Thursday. Despite their recent historic 2-0 victory over Pakistan, Bangladesh has a reputation for surprising opponents, including India, in the past. Events such as the 2007 World Cup, the 2012 Asia Cup, and shock series defeats in 2015 and 2022 illustrate this trend. In a closely fought match two years ago, Bangladesh nearly secured their first Test win over India, with Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin ultimately saving the day for the Indian team.

And hence, there is no room for complacency this time around, reckons Gavaskar, especially given the fact that India are left with 10 Tests to make the final of the World Test Championship next year. India are leading the WTC table with 74 points but 68.52 percentage, just above the second-placed Australia, while Bangladesh are lurking around the corner at 4th. As the last two editions have proven, anything can happen, which is why Gavaskar doesn't want India to leave it for too late.

"By beating Pakistan in both the Test matches played in Pakistan, the Bangladesh team have shown that they are a force to reckon with. Even a couple of years back, when India toured Bangladesh, they were given a good fight by the Bangladeshis. Now with the series win against Pakistan under their belt, they are primed to take on India too," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.

"They have some fine players in their ranks and some new promising players who no longer have the awe of the opposition that seemed to characterise their early forays into the international game. Now, every team that play them know they can't put their guard down as they could be knocked down as the Pakistanis found out. It will certainly be a series to look forward to."

India, eyeing a hat-trick of WTC finals, are hoping to emerge third time lucky – provide they make the summit clash in June next year – after the disappointing results of 2021 and 2023. After Bangladesh, India host New Zealand for a three-Test series before embarking on a testing tour of Australia. Winners of consecutive series Down Under in 2018-19 and 2020-21, India promise to leave no stone unturned as they aim for an unprecedented three-in-three.

Not many teams can brag of beating Australia in a Test series on their home soil, and for India, there cannot be a bigger source of motivation than a place in the WTC final. After all, Rohit Sharma would be eager to settle the score for India's painful defeats in the WTC 2023 and the ODI World Cup finals. Gavaskar expects India to be fighting tooth and nail, making the upcoming 10 Tests a riveting affair.

"India have 10 Test matches coming up over the next four and a half months and they need to win at least five of them to give themselves a good chance to qualify for the World Test Championship final. of these Tests will be easy and so we could be in for an exciting summer of cricket," the legendary former India captain pointed out.