No Fear? Najmul Hossain Shanto breaks silence on Bangladesh’s red-soil pitch worries

Bangladesh National Cricket Team skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto opened up about the pitch that has been produced for the first Test against India National Cricket Team, which is set to be played in Chennai from September 19.

As usual, the pitch has become a major talking point ahead of the Test series in India. Recently, Gautam Gambhir also spoke about it and blasted the people who criticized India for producing spin-friendly tracks.

Meanwhile, multiple reports have emerged claiming that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will deploy a red-soil pitch in the first Test against Bangladesh, with one eye on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Notably, the red-soil tracks are faster, offer more bounce, and favor pacers and spinners, especially as the match progresses and the pitch deteriorates. A red-soil pitch will allow India to play a three-man pace attack in the first Test.

At the pre-match press conference, Najmul Hossain Shanto played down the pitch talk and highlighted the importance of adapting quickly.

"As far as the wicket is concerned, it will be a good wicket. I don't want to talk too much about it. We will try to adapt the wicket as soon as possible," Najmul Hossain Shanto said in the pre-match press conference.

Najmul Hossain Shanto added that they have an experienced spin-bowling unit and a talented pace-bowling unit, which is capable enough to do the job in India.

"I think we have a very experienced spin-bowling attack. But I think in the last couple of years, we have had very good pace bowlers as well. I know they are not that experienced, but they are capable of doing. So, I am not thinking too much about spin or pace bowling," he said.

Yes, he (Nahid Rana) is very exciting and the way he bowled against Pakistan - Najmul Hossain Shanto

The tall 21-year-old Bangladesh National Cricket Team pacer Nahid Rana has gained the attention of the Indian team ahead of the Test series as he was extremely impressive on the Pakistan tour. To deal with his threat, Indian team management brought in Gurnoor Brar to get used to facing a tall and quick seamer.

Meanwhile, Najmul Hossain Shanto stated that although Rana is gaining the most attention, all the pacers in the Bangladesh squad are great.

"Yes, he (Nahid Rana) is very exciting and the way he bowled against Pakistan. It's really impressive and looks very nice. But I am not thinking about any individual player, I think all the fast bowlers did a great job in Pakistan.

"I feel the last couple of weeks they did really well. I hope they will do something good here and then as you mentioned Nahid Rana is a special bowler for us. We are not thinking too much about him. How I am going to use him according to the situation, I try to plan," he concluded.

Najmul Hossain Shanto has also said that they are not focusing too much on the opposition team and are thinking more about their own strengths. He elaborated:

"I think it's important to think about ourselves rather than thinking about opponents. What strengths we have. I believe we have the ability to play good cricket here. It's important how we can play good cricket for five days. Every international team aims to win every match. We have the same goal as well that we will play to win."