Bangladesh batter Najmul Hossain Shanto, who had toured South Africa in 2015 with the Bangladesh Under-19 side, recalled some fond memories from that tour as he prepares to face the Proteas once again in Bangladesh's two-match Test series, starting from Thursday.

Under the captaincy of Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Bangladesh Under-19s won five of the seven matches against their South African counterparts in that tour and Shanto was looking to take some inspiration from that memorable trip.

"There were some good memories during that tour. We had a wonderful time and I am really excited that we are going to play against some of the familiar faces in the two-match Test series," Shanto said while sharing his experience through a video message.

With a smile on his face, he also mentioned that there were some professional rugby players who had played for South Africa in that tour and that, at times, it was difficult for them to identify whether they were playing rugby or cricket at the crease.

"There were some funny things that we encountered in that series. South Africa had a few rugby players playing for them. Sometimes it confused us as to whether they were playing rugby or cricket," said Shanto.  

Segueing to the topic of the upcoming series, the left-handed batter said that the team is very much confident of creating history in the Test series after a historic 2-1 ODI series victory against the hosts.

"The mentality of the whole team has changed since the victory in New Zealand. The environment around the team has also changed. There had been lack of confidence earlier about winning matches away from home, especially in New Zealand and South Africa but now this team has the belief. Self-belief has increased. I am not saying that we will win the series for sure, it is just that we can do it," said a confident Shanto.

Hinting at the possibility of Bangladesh fielding a line-up with four frontline bowlers against South Africa, Shanto also mentioned that he has been seriously working on his bowling in recent times.

"I have been working on my bowling for the past six-seven months. Rangana Herath [Tigers' spin bowling coach] has helped me a lot. The team management also convinced us that if we can contribute with four-five overs in a game, then it will hugely benefit the team," Shanto added.