Bangladesh's new mindset is a game changer: Wasim Jaffer

Mumbai: The inclusion of Jasprit Bumrah in the full-strength squad for the upcoming matches against Bangladesh highlights the Indian team's commitment and seriousness towards the upcoming series.

Generally, when it comes to India’s pace ace, rest and rotation has been the preferred policy with an eye on the big contests of the season, which this time happens to be Australia. But this is a clear sign that India doesn’t want to take any chances. Bangladesh’s historic 2-0 victory over Pakistan recently demonstrated their potential away from home as well.

Their performance showed that this was a team that knew how to stay in the game when the going got tough and that, Wasim Jaffer believes, makes them dangerous opponents. The former India opener isn’t a stranger to Bangladesh cricket, having been part of their system in various capacities. He also played alongside their current captain Najmal Hossain Shanto and rising star, Mehidy Hasan Mirza in the Dhaka Premier League.

Jaffer has seen the improvement in Bangladesh cricket first-hand. He feels they have got better at handling crunch situations. An obvious result of a change in mindset.

“They have become better with experience. They were known to play well in Bangladesh, but lately they have also toured well. They have beaten New Zealand in New Zealand (2002 at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganu), beaten Pakistan in Pakistan. In limited overs cricket, they have done well in patches away from home. They have quite a few seniors to guide them. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim have been there for so long,” said Jaffer, who has worked in various coaching roles with the Bangladesh Cricket Board since 2019, from their Under-19 backup team coach to U-19 batting coach while also being part of the support staff for the senior team for a ODI series in Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh has yet to beat India in a Test match but the gap is reducing as seen in the last series between the two. On paper, India won the 2022 Test series 2-0 but the players know how close it was.

The emergence of players like Mehidy and Shanto, both 26, has made a difference. The difference in Bangladesh’s batting against Pakistan was their depth, which helped them recover from 26/6 in the second Test. Jaffer remembers the conversations he had with Mehidy and Shanto.

“Mehidy Miraz and Shanto were with me in the same team. Shanto was not in the Bangladesh team at that time, he was dropped, so I had few converstations with him. I have worked with both (as a senior player),” said Jaffer, who is particularly impressed by Mehidy’s fighting spirit.

“Mehidy has that fighting spirit; he has done it time and again. Even in ODIs if you open with him, he gets hundreds. He is one of the guys who doesn’t give up whether in batting or bowling or fielding.”

Bangladesh are known to have a spin-heavy team but what has transformed them into good travellers are their fast-bowling gains.

“I feel they have changed their mindset,” said Jaffer. “They want to play on bouncy pitches with a bit of a pace even at home. The series they won against Afghanistan was played on fast and bouncy pitches (Ebadot Hossain and Taskin Ahmed starred in the victory). And from there I feel there has been a slight shift in mindset that they are not going to win only with spin.

“I think they must have gained from Donald’s work (he had joined in March, 2022 and was there till the 2023 ODI World Cup). Before that Courtney Walsh was also there. During that period Ebadot Hossain emerged, the likes of Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman got better and now Nahid Rana has come up. With Shoriful Islam and Hasan Mahmud, they have four- five quality fast bowlers, who bowl 140-plus, that is what you need.”