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‘Records are meant to be broken.’ These were the words of Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto before the start of the Pakistan series. At the time, Bangladesh had a 12-0 record against Pakistan.

After the completion of the series, Shanto recalled those words. The record has finally been broken, now that reads 12-2. 

As the jubilant Bangladesh team returned home late last night after a historic clean sweep over Pakistan, talk about the next series has already begun. That is how the cricket schedules work nowadays; players rarely get a break between two assignments.

Bangladesh will travel to India for a multi-format series beginning on September 19 with the Chennai Test.

The preparation camp for the tour has already begun, while those who participated in the Pakistan tour (both Test and A sides) will join on September 8.

All of the Test players have returned to the country, with the exception of Shakib Al Hasan, who reportedly moved to London to play for the county team Surrey.

Bangladesh now face a more daunting challenge, with a bigger record to break. Bangladesh so far have played 13 Tests against India, the opponent in their inaugural Test, and have yet to win a game. The two draws came in 2007 (Chattogram) and in 2015 (Fatullah), both courtesy of rain. 

Touring India, especially for a Test series, is not a pleasant experience for any team as far as winning is concerned.

Since 2012, no team has managed to win a single series there. The last team that beat India in a series on their soil was Alastair Cook’s England. 

In this time, the visiting teams have managed to win only four matches out of a staggering figure of 51 Tests. India is certainly a scary place to visit for a Test team. 

Though Bangladesh is filled with confidence after beating Pakistan, Shanto knows that the India series will be tough. After returning home, he said to the reporters, ‘Certainly confidence is high after such a series win. But the India series will be tough.’ 

‘We need to plan from scratch; we’ve got to prepare ourselves. But given the morale of the team right now, if we can play to our best, then certainly it’s possible to do something good there also.’ 

Experts believe that the series victory against Pakistan would enhance their confidence, which will benefit them in the future. Shanto also believes this.

‘Every time we play, the players are confident that we’re playing for the win,’ he added.

‘There’s a thing among our players that they need that evidence [that we can win]. As we’ve done that, now we know that if we play our best cricket, then we can beat any opposition.

‘If we only follow the process rather than thinking about the outcome, then I hope that we can play well in the upcoming series’ also.’ 

Tarek Aziz, a former pacer and current BCB coach who is managing the preparatory camp, similarly emphasises the importance of a new plan.

‘If we want to cash in on the confidence that we gained [from the Pakistan series], we need to go ahead with a new plan. The Indian batting line-up is far more skillful,’ Tarek told reporters at Mirpur on Thursday.