Ahead of the two-match Test series against India, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto said that his side wants to win both the long-format matches. Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is ready for the ‘challenging’ two-Test series on Indian soil. Riding high on historic two-Test series win against Pakistan, Najmul Hossain Shanto said that the team has ‘extra confidence’.
A confident Bangladesh team arrived in India on Sunday for two Test matches and three T20Is with visiting skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto hoping that their historic 2-0 series win in Pakistan recently would hold them in good stead against the formidable hosts in the coming weeks.
Bangladesh Historic series vs Pakistan increases Najmul Hossain Shanto’s confidence.
Currently, Bangladesh are in top form as they have whitewashed Pakistan 2-0, winning their first test series on Pakistani soil. The Bengal Tigers clinched a massive 10-wicket victory over Pakistan in the first Test match. While in the second long-format match, they won it by six wickets.
Bangladesh played an inspired brand of cricket in Pakistan where their batters and bowlers combined to beat the home side by ten wickets in the first Test and by six wickets in the second. Much of the focus was on their fast bowlers who combined to take all ten wickets in the Pakistan second innings in the second Test, a first for the country.
Shanto knows Bangladesh’s pace attack is not as experienced as India’s, but the recent success will keep them in a positive frame of mind. At the same time, he feels Bangladesh’s spinners – Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz – are much closer to India’s.
Bangladesh’s batters also made an overall recovery of their form. They had an ordinary time in the last 12 months, particularly against Sri Lanka earlier this year when the team crossed 300 only once during the home series. But they batted splendidly in the first Test in Rawalpindi, with Mushfiqur Rahim getting 191 and three other batters crossing fifties. In the second Test, too, they fought hard despite a top-order collapse. Litton Das struck his fourth Test century, and Mehidy his second fifty in the series.
Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib, though, could not get a half-century in Pakistan. Najmul Hossain Shanto hasn’t emulated his 2023 form when he scored 1650 runs across formats, with five centuries. He has scored only one century so far this year. Shakib has scored just one half-century in 16 innings. But he has continued his strong bowling form, and took nine wickets for Surrey against Somerset recently. He will join the team in India directly from London.
Speaking at the pre-departure press conference in Dhaka, Najmul Hossain Shanto accepted that it will be a challenging series against India. However, he added that the Bengal Tigers are having “extra confidence” after win over Pakistan in Test series.
Bangladesh Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto’s Bold Remark Ahead Of 2 Match Test Series vs India
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto has said that the Tigers must show enough resistance to take both Test matches into the final session during their upcoming India tour. Shanto believes the match can swing in any direction if that happens. After securing a historic Test series win over Pakistan, Bangladesh will look to topple India in their upcoming tour. However, it will be their most difficult challenge, given India haven’t lost a home series since 2012 and are yet to suffer a defeat in Test to Bangladesh.
Speaking at a pre-departure press conference, Najmul Hossain Shanto admitted that India are well ahead of Bangladesh in the rankings, but said their aim is to be at it for five days. He said:
“They are well ahead of us in the rankings. But we did play well recently. We want to play well for five days, that’s our goal. We want to get the result in the last session of the Test match. At that time, the match can go in any direction. It is an opportunity [to get our first win in India]. We will play with a win in mind. But we don’t want to think too far ahead.”
The southpaw stated that the whole country has confidence in them to get the job done. He said:
“It will be a challenging series but we have the extra confidence from the Pakistan series. I guess the whole country has that confidence now. Every series is an opportunity. We want to win both Tests, but we have to stick to our process. If we do our job, we can get a good result.”
It was only in 2017 that Bangladesh played their first Test on Indian soil. The hosts won it comprehensively by 208 runs.
Najmul Hossain Shanto confident of bowlers delivering in a test series
Najmul Hossain Shanto also made a bold claim that Bangladesh’s spin-bowling attack is at par with India’s and backed his players to outperform the hosts. He said:
“We are in a good place with our bowling attack, both spin and pace. Perhaps our pacers are behind them in terms of experience but our spin attack is close to theirs. They can bowl in any conditions. All I can say is that our pacers, spinners and batters will give 100%. I think we can make a difference only if we play as a team.”
With Shakib Al Hasan’s batting form a concern, Shanto backed the veteran to come good in India and pointed out how well he performed with the ball for Surrey in his recent County Championship outing. On this, Shanto said:
“My personal goal would be for the team to win. I want to contribute as a batter, for which I have prepared to the best of my ability. I am hopeful [Shakib] will do well. The expectations are always the same with him. He is in good form with the ball. He didn’t get runs [for Surrey], but he had a good outing with the ball.”
The former Bangladesh captain bagged nine wickets for Surrey against Somerset in the County Championship division one match in England earlier this year. The two-match Test series between India and Bangladesh will kick off on September 19 at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium. The second Test between India and Bangladesh will be held in Kanpur, which will be played from September 27.
Currently, Team India are leading the WTC standings with a point percentage of 68.52, and their upcoming series in the WTC include Bangladesh (two Tests, home), New Zealand (three Tests, home), and Australia (five Tests, away).