Bangladesh opener Shadman Islam will be well aware that each time he bats against the experienced Indian spinners in the upcoming two-match Test series, he needs to ensure that his head does not fall away while batting.
The 29-year-old scored 135 runs at an average of 45.33 in the recently concluded two-match Test series against Pakistan, which marked a brilliant comeback after a gap of two years.
Shadman made his comeback noteworthy with a brilliant 93 in the first innings of the first Test. His knock gave immense confidence not only to him, but also the entire dressing room. The team management would hope for a similar knock when they take on India in the series opener in Chennai on September 19.
Shadman kept going despite being left out of the national Test squad following the tour of South Africa in 2022. However, the Bangladesh Tigers camp ahead of the tour of Pakistan was when he found the areas he needed to work on to get everything in place, precisely against the spin bowlers.
The left-handed batter was wearing a strap on his neck while batting in the nets during the camp at Chattogram. He smiled when he was reminded about it and explained the reason for wearing the strap. "It (strap on his neck) was because my head used to fall sometimes so Sohel Sir (head coach Bangladesh Tigers) and Babul Sir (head coach Bangladesh A team) helped me to identify the area that I need to work on during the time in the nets," Shadman told Cricbuzz.
"Not always but sometimes my head used to fall a bit while playing spin. And I have worked a lot with Babul Sir and then I worked with Sohel Sir in the Tigers camp and they made me understand very nicely that if you play like this and head falls then this problem can happen, and because of that I worked on it for many days in the last camp (in Bangladesh Tigers)," he said.
Shadman added that he does not play cricket with the mindset of tiring the bowlers before taking the aggressive route, despite the fact he is known to play within his limits. More importantly, he does not try playing the fancy shots like some of his teammates who feel that is the best way to release pressure.
"I don't have any plan like this (that I will tire the bowling unit) and I bat normally. I know they are also not machines and you will definitely get bad balls but I wait for my time," said Shadman.
"It about who can show his character in the field in his own way. The way I play, I always think that I will wait for the ball to come to the bat, and when my time comes then I will score my runs. And sometimes you have to push yourself, no one wants to bowl a bad ball deliberately, so then I think I will need to play positive and push them so that they bowl a bad ball so, that's what I have in my mind," he said.
"I always try to keep my defence intact and bat with the mindset that they can't break my defence and wait for the bad balls. This is always my plan that I stick to the basics and even while practicing I try to keep my defense in control. My plan is to how to bat within my own control," he said.
Shadman said that he is not thinking too much about the challenges lying ahead in the India series. "In India if you talk about the challenge, then everything is a challenge and now rather than thinking of it, the biggest challenge is how to be ready," he said.
"So, that's what I am thinking about, now I will see the bowling, how they plan. Indian wickets are definitely great, the bounce is good, the ball comes at the same height, isn't that good, because of that (good wickets) even the shape of batting remains good," he concluded.
Bangladesh, who reached India on September 15, began their training at Chennai on Monday (September 16) ahead of the opening game. A team official confirmed to Cricbuzz that Shakib Al Hasan is yet to arrive from England. The all-rounder played a four-day game for Surrey in the County as part of his preparation for the series and will be carrying good confidence, courtesy of his nine wickets in the game.