Dravid asks teammates to take Bangladesh seriously

Dhaka, May 8 (UNI) With the wounds of the World Cup annihilation still raw, skipper Rahul Dravid today asked his boys to 'play hard' and not underestimate the prowess of Bangladesh in their forthcoming ODI series commencing May 10.

Rahul Dravid made his intentions clear when he said, "Bangladesh have improved a lot. There are no doubts about that. They are playing very good cricket. We expect stiffer challenge than what we got on our last visit here. And we are aware of it." "We expect to do well here. They (Bangladesh) played really well against us in Trinidad. We have come here to play some tough cricket. We will show that we can play really well," Dravid told reporters after team's practise session at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium here.

India was thrashed by five wickets by Bangladesh in World Cup and he made it clear that he had no intention of seeing the same being repeated during this series.

Rahul Dravid said, "Any international series is significant.

Irrespective of what happened before we have come here to play good tough cricket and we hope to do well." He was reacting to a question on whether the series had any extra significance for him after being handed out a defeat at the hands of Bangladesh in World Cup. India play three ODIs with Bagladesh commencing May 10.

Asked if the young Bangla side was an advantage for the hosts, he said, "They do have a young side and the players have done well for the team. The fact that they have done well in the World Cup is a big boost for the side. They have a good future." But he made it clear that the intention was to win both the ODI and Test series, "The idea is to win the one-day and test series here." UNI BA MIR HS2204