Kingstown, May 14: West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan said Bangladesh is an improved team and would not be taken lightly as the two prepare for a three-match one-day cricket series starting tomorrow. "They keep improving," Sarwan said at the series launch in St. Vincent yesterday. "I'm sure they are not going to be any pushover."
While the visitors have won just two matches out of 50 one-day internationals since the 1999 World Cup, Sarwan is not exuding overconfidence as he takes charge of only his second match while Brian Lara recovers from a finger injury.
"Myself and the coach and the manager have been speaking to the players after the end of the England series so that we don't underrate anybody," Sarwan said.
The West Indies split the recent series against England 2-2 and was strongest in back-to-back victories in St. Lucia.
"The biggest concern would be getting complacent against Bangladesh. It's something that we don't want to happen throughout this series."
Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore is realistic as he looks forward to his team's first international tour of the West Indies. "Every opposition is formidable to Bangladesh at the moment," he said.
Whatmore added that he wanted his team to be given credit should they upset the odds, citing improvements, including Bangladesh's recent victory over Zimbabwe.
"I'd like to think that when Bangladesh wins, it's not because the opposition is complacent. I think there is enough evidence to suggest that Bangladesh is on the right track and can push the rival in every match of this series."
Bureau Report