Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto sets sights on Test series sweep against India

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has expressed his team's ambition to win both matches in the upcoming two-match Test series against India, which is set to commence on September 19 at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Bangladesh enters the series on a high note, having recently achieved a 2-0 whitewash over Pakistan, securing their first Test series victory on Pakistani soil. The Bengal Tigers demonstrated their prowess with a commanding 10-wicket win in the first Test and followed it up with a six-wicket victory in the second.

In a pre-departure press conference in Dhaka, Najmul acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead against the formidable Indian side but emphasized the confidence gained from their recent success. 

"It will be a challenging series but we have the extra confidence from the Pakistan series. I guess the whole country has that confidence now. Every series is an opportunity. We want to win both Tests, but we have to stick to our process. If we do our job, we can get a good result," Najmul Hossain said.

Discussing the goals for their tour of India, Najmul highlighted the need to focus on performance over rankings. 

"They are well ahead of us in the rankings. But we did play well recently. We want to play well for five days, that's our goal. We want to get the result in the last session of the Test match. At that time, the match can go in any direction. It is an opportunity [to get our first win in India]. We will play with a win in mind. But we don't want to think too far ahead. We want to do well for five days, and play to our strength. That's most important," he said.

Najmul also praised the strength of Bangladesh's bowling attack. 

"We are in a good place with our bowling attack, both spin and pace. Perhaps our pacers are behind them in terms of experience but our spin attack is close to theirs. They can bowl in any conditions. All I can say is that our pacers, spinners and batters will give 100%," he concluded.

The second Test of the series will be held in Kanpur from September 27. Currently, India leads the World Test Championship (WTC) standings with a point percentage of 68.52. Their upcoming WTC fixtures include home series against Bangladesh (two Tests), New Zealand (three Tests), and an away series against Australia (five Tests).