Former Indian opening batter Virender Sehwag has rubbished any feelings about fearing the Men in Blue would lose to Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy 2025 game despite some jittery moments. Sehwag opined that Bangladesh are not Australia or Pakistan to be unpredictable at any time, suggesting they are not strong enough to beat India.

The Tigers recovered from a precarious 35/5 to reach a fighting 228, thanks to a 154-run stand between Jaker Ali and Towhid Hridoy, with the latter making a ton. Although Bangladesh sparked a mini-collapse, the Men in Blue chased down the targets with more than three overs to spare.

When asked by the host on Cricbuzz, if any fan would have felt a tingling in their stomach, given the way Bangladesh performed, he stated:

"Nahin hui hogi. Bangladesh hai, tum log ne itni taarefein karwa di mujhse Bangladesh ki. Pata nahin kaunsa darr paida kar diya. Hum log pata nahin kisse khel rahe hain. Bangladesh hai, Australia ya Pakistan thodi na hai jo unpredictable ho. Kisi bhi fan ke dil mein thodi si bhi ghabraahat aayi hogi, main nahin maanta thodi si bhi. Bada asaan game tha, 5 over pade they."

(Don't think so. It's Bangladesh, you've made me praise Bangladesh so much. Its Bangladesh, not Australia or Pakistan to be unpredictable. I don't believe any fan would have felt any worry and it was a comfortable win in the end.)

"We knew it would be on the slower side" - Rohit Sharma on the pitch

At the post-match presentation, Rohit claimed that he was aware of how the conditions will be in Dubai and feels the experience in their team helped massively in adapting to it. He stated:

"Before you come and play any game, you have to be confident. In the chase, as it goes on, there are different emotions that come through. But you have to be ready. We have been in that situation before. There's a lot of experience in the dressing room to stay composed. KL and Gill at the end were very composed. One game, very hard to make anything out of the track. Not much grass on it, we knew it would be on the slower side, and that is how it played. As a team, I thought we adapted to the conditions really well, with the bowling and with the bat as well.

The Men in Blue will next face Pakistan on February 23.