Bangladesh have nothing to lose

One does not wish to sound uncharitable on the eve of a special occasion like the country's inaugural Test but it must be said that on many counts, Bangladesh look ill equipped as they prepare to take on India in their inaugural Test at the Bangabandhu stadium in Dhaka from Friday.

First is their overall record. Bangladesh has played ten first class matches over the last three years in New Zealand, South Africa and at home and have not registered even one victory. They have lost six games and drawn four. They have just come back from a nightmarish trip to South Africa where they lost all three one day matches - two by really embarrassing margins - and a four day game to Griqualand West. Even in the comparatively less complex field of one day cricket, their record is nothing to boast about. And as everyone knows, Test cricket separates the men from the boys.

When Bangladesh was awarded Test status in June, the BCB president Saber Chowdhury cautioned that amidst all the celebrations and the euphoria ``we are mindful of the fact that achieving Test status is not an end in itself but the means to an end.'' Laudable sentiments indeed.

Good intentions are one thing, professional preparation quite another. Of course the Bangladeshis may argue that it took time for countries like Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe to come of age in the longer game. But there is no denying that keenness and enthusiasm - even if it is in abundance as in Bangladesh's case - can carry a team some way, but not all the way.

Is Bangladesh ready for Test cricket? Going by recent events, it must be said that the worldwide criticism against the country being granted Test status would seem to be justified. But to their credit, the BCB and the players are not in the least affected by this attitude. The organisers are leaving no stone unturned to make the occasion a grand success and the programmes associated with this objective have already started. And for their part, the cricketers are prepared to shrug off the past and get along with the game in a positive manner.

Bangladesh captain Naimur Rahman for one is confident that the side has fully recovered from last month's disastrous tour of South Africa. ``The disappointing results will not influence our performance in the Test match. We have already sat together, completed a postmortem and found our faults. Now we are trying our best to correct ourselves.''

Rahman has also been quoted as saying that the Griqualand bowlers were better than the Indian pace trio of Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad and thus the home team had a chance of doing well in the historic Test. There may a touch of bravado in this, though perhaps Rahman was also trying to boost the morale of his side. But it also indicates two things - that Bangladesh have managed to put the events of the recent past behind them and they are approaching the big game with the full knowledge that there is no pressure on them at all. That being the case, the clear message is that they will play with absolute freedom.

One can't say to what extent Bangladesh will enjoy the home advantage but they already have a factor in their favour. Bangladesh's strength, however limited this might be, is their batting and the pitch at the Bangabandhu stadium has usually favoured the batsmen. It is generally slow, with the bounce being rather limited and the movement of the ball is restricted in Dhaka. So Bangladesh do have a few things going for them. Which is just as well, considering the odds stacked against them.