Dravid's smile hides any pain there might be from the blow he had received from an RP Singh bouncer at the nets yesterday. He has scored 10,125 ODI runs and 12 centuries. The 14-member Bangladesh squad have a total of 10,794 runs and six centuries. There must be countless other such numbers that will suggest that this tour should be an easy one for India. Yet, a series in Bangladesh has probably never been more anticipated anywhere, anytime - not even in Zimbabwe or Kenya for whom a Bangladesh tour might mean taking on someone their own size.
Not only will India India have to deal with a resurgent Bangladesh team, they will also have to negotiate the hot and humid Bangladesh weather. The Australians will testify that a packed schedule in the hottest months of the year is the best recipe for a disaster in Bangladesh - they came close to one last year. The only difference this time around is a more assured Bangladesh team pitted against an Indian team that is certainly not as tough to keep down as Australia. To make matters worse, India will not play a single practice game throughout the tour; 13 days of international cricket will be played over a tour of 23 days. Obviously, the home team stands to gain more out of such a schedule. Add to this the slow and low wickets and throw in the left-arm spin triplet, and there is every chance of a struggle for India.
India's Tests-only players have flown back home, while the one-day team flies to Dhaka on Monday to play what is expected to be the most evenly contested series between Bangladesh and a Test-playing nation other than Zimbabwe.
