India head coach Gautam Gambhir has advised Bangladesh to focus on improving their batting, a message conveyed through Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam Bulbul after the Asia Cup final in Dubai.
India, the reigning world champions, lifted yet another Asia Cup title in the T20 format on 28 September, defeating Pakistan in a high-profile final. Bulbul, who was present at the match, spoke with Gambhir and later shared the Indian coach’s view with the media.
“We had a good chance of playing the final. The team was capable,” Bulbul said after the match. “Still, we must move forward – the squad is young and improving every day. Gautam Gambhir gave me one piece of advice: that we should work more on our batting. I agree with him.”
Bangladesh’s campaign showed promise, with a convincing victory over Sri Lanka to open the Super Four stage. However, narrow defeats to India and Pakistan meant the Tigers fell short of a place in the final. Despite this, Bulbul expressed pride in the team’s recent progress.
“As for the way we reached the second round, beating Sri Lanka, we should have gone on to win against India and Pakistan as well,” Bulbul said. “But I have no regrets. I am proud of the performance. Over the last four months, we lost to UAE and Pakistan, then bounced back against Sri Lanka, and beat Pakistan and the Netherlands at home. Now we have the Afghanistan series ahead, which will be good preparation for the 2026 World Cup. Mistakes have been made, but we must ensure these are not repeated.”
Although the Asia Cup has concluded, Bangladesh remain in the UAE for their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, starting in Sharjah on 2 October. Bulbul, who briefly met with the players during his short visit, said:
“I came here for a few hours and will leave again. I met the players briefly – they are preparing themselves for the series.”
