IND vs BAN: Sunil Gavaskar cautions India ahead of 1st Test: 'Bangladesh are force to reckon with'

Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes that Bangladesh are a dangerous team and cannot be taken lightly. India will be playing Bangladesh in a two-match Test series beginning on September 19 in Chennai.

Bangladesh are in good form and are coming on the back of a historic 2-0 Test series win over Pakistan. They dominated Pakistan in all the departments despite playing away from home and showed how good a team they can be.

Given their recent form and quality in their squad, they cannot be lightly taken. Although India looks stronger on paper, they are playing a Test match after a long time and may need some time to gel together. Bangladesh will be looking to use this as an advantage.

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Sunil Gavaskar cautions Team India ahead of the 1st Test against confident Bangladesh

While writing for his column in the Mid-Day, Sunil Gavaskar warned India of taking their opponents lightly and feels they are a confident side after beating Pakistan in their own backyard. Gavaskar also remembered the last time India toured Bangladesh when the home team gave India a tough fight and almost got past them.

"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.

The former India opener further mentioned the talented players in the Bangladesh team who can take the game away from the opposition. He claimed that no team can take Bangladesh lightly as they have knocked out Pakistan comprehensively.

"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 characterize 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," Gavaskar added.

Huge task for Bangladesh

Although the Bangla Tigers defeated Pakistan in the Test series recently, they will know that they have a much tougher task in front of them now. Defeating India in Test cricket in their own conditions is probably one of the toughest things in cricket.

India have a tremendous record at home and is the most dominating team in the world in home conditions. They haven't lost a Test series at home since 2013. Since 2013, the Men in Blue have a 40-4 win-loss record at home, which is the best of all the other teams. Moreover, India is also ranked No. 1 in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) rankings currently and look primed to reach the third WTC final in a row.

The first match of the two-match Test series between India and Bangladesh will start on September 19 at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The second match will be played at Green Park, Kanpur from September 27.