"He is a special player" - Dinesh Karthik on Indian all-rounder ahead of ODI series against Bangladesh

India's veteran gloveman Dinesh Karthik is keen to see how Shahbaz Ahmed goes about his business in the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh. The 37-year-old suggested that the all-rounder could replicate his IPL performances in international cricket.

Shahbaz made his international debut in the recent ODI series against South Africa, taking three wickets in two games. The 27-year-old has also done well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, picking up 11 scalps in six games at an averege of 22.72 and economy rate of 4.87.

#TeamIndia for Bangladesh ODIs: Rohit Sharma(C), KL Rahul (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, R Pant (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shahbaz Ahmed, Axar Patel, W Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Karthik reckons Shahbaz is a special player, so it would be interesting to see how he fares in 50-over games in Bangladesh.

"I am really looking forward to, obviously, I am very keen on having a look at how a KL Rahul adapts in the middle order and how a Virat Kohli is gonna go, because he is coming back after a break and a fabulous World Cup, but I am also really keen to see Shahbaz Ahmed. I think he is a special player; he has done really well for RCB, against South Africa; he has done well, and I am really looking forward to see him go in that ODI series."

The Tamil Nadu player underlined that Bangladesh's left-arm spinners would challenge India in Tests, elaborating:

"When it comes to the Test matches, obviously when it comes to Bangladesh it is all about playing left-arm spin; they have quite a few there. They end up bowling a lot of spin, so it will come down to the credentials of how well we play spin."

While Bangladesh are yet to announce their Test squad for the two games, all-rounder Shakib al Hasan is likely to return to the fold. The Test match in 2015 between the two teams ended in a draw.

"Every time you play them, you could see the intensity" - Dinesh Karthik on Bangladesh

The India player also said that the Tigers will have plenty of crowd support against India, given their level of intensity of their play. Karthik added:

"I am pretty sure Bangladesh will be one of the countries when India tour where the whole team will have way more support than India ,and that is something rare to see in international cricket, and it's good to see as well because they come in big numbers and support Bangladesh, and I actually enjoy that fact about them, and everytime you play them, you could see the intensity with which they play; they try and up their game, which is always good to watch."

18 June 2005: Bangladesh beat Australia
18 June 2015: Bangladesh beat India #BANvIND http://t.co/AuS5MCcfh5

Over the years, Bangladesh have had a few famous wins over India.