India's Strength Helps Identify Areas for Improvement, Nick Pothas

Bangladesh had arrived in India on an upbeat, riding on the momentum of a recent Test series win over Pakistan, but were brought down to earth quickly by the home side that emphatically grabbed both Test and T20I rubbers.

The Bangladesh fielding coach Nick Pothas said on Friday that India was the "world's best team" that put his side under tremendous pressure throughout the Test and T20I series, but he wants to leverage it as a learning experience.

Bangladesh had arrived in India on an upbeat, riding on the momentum of a recent Test series win over Pakistan, but were brought down to earth quickly by the home side that emphatically grabbed both Test and T20I rubbers.

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When you look at the bowling and the batting, one thing India will always do to you is put you under immense pressure because of the level of skill they have. India lets you know where you have to improve," said Pothas in the pre-match press meet here.

India won the first two matches, played in Gwalior and New Delhi, to take an unassailable 2-0 lead and made the third T20I here Saturday a mere formality.

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But Pothas said Bangladesh need to be "honest" in their self-assessment after such a tour where they suffered some heavy defeats.

The good fortune of touring India because a lot of learning can be done. And the learning has to be honest. The learning is how do you absorb pressure for longer periods of time? "How do you read the game better under pressure for longer periods of time? But most importantly is how do you prepare? And that has to evolve, that has to change all the time," he added.

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"But it is a privilege to play in India because when you play the world's best team, they help you understand where you need to improve." Pothas put "underperforming" batsmen responsible for his side's defeat in the three-match T20I series against India.

"We are playing against phenomenal opposition in their own country. Yes, we have some experience along the way but I agree with you, from a batting point of view, we have underperformed according to our expectation.

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"You can take performance and an outcome as two different conversations but, yes, we would have liked to get 170, 180 here," he noted.

Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah will soon be ending their international careers, said Pothas and hopes that the two veterans would be around Bangladeshi cricket long enough to pass along some of their wisdom to the next generation.

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"I would imagine having played international cricket for the length of time they have and performed to the high level that they have, I think the most important thing that we need to acknowledge is that they have forged a path for young cricketers to follow.".

"Hopefully they would be around for a while to contribute in any which way but to be able to pass on that experience to make the next generation better.

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"Bangladesh has been very lucky to have had players of their caliber play for that duration and as an unit and as a nation, we wish them all the best," he said.

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