Shanto stakes claim for solidity in Champions Trophy

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto made a big statement ahead of the squad's final training session in Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium yesterday, saying that they are going to the Champions Trophy with the goal of winning the tournament. Far from trying to convince anyone, Shanto was perhaps just sending a message of what goal they should seek out.

The Tigers' best outing in the tournament came in the last edition in 2017 in England when they made the semifinals against India -- also their best-ever finish in an ICC tournament. But there has been an overhaul of the squad from that time and recent ICC events have not gone in Bangladesh's favour.

Shanto, however, was seeking solidity in an ICC tournament during this phase of Bangladesh's transition. The Tigers' growth in the ODI format has remained incomplete. They are yet to fire in the biggest stages against the biggest opponents when it really matters. ODI cricket on more batting-friendly surfaces have also caught the Tigers napping. But for seminal work on the team's mettle, there needs to be solidity, something that was missing due to haphazard batting-order changes in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India where Bangladesh had one of their best-ever squads.

The results suffered greatly and Bangladesh squeezed into the Champions Trophy by winning their final league phase fixture against Sri Lanka. Shanto said they have a good idea about the batting order this time around and injuries during the West Indies series allowed them to take a litmus test on their overall abilities.

"In the last series [in West Indies], two-three players couldn't play due to injuries. This gave an opportunity to Jaker [Ali], who had a brilliant series. [Mahmudullah] Riyad bhai performed well, and [Mehedi] Miraz did well at number four. We have now understood where each player fits best and who is in good form. The injuries helped us see these things. We are pretty clear about the batting order and who will bat where. We know each player's role, so this won't be a big issue," Shanto said.

Bangladesh players after a photo session for the Champions Trophy. Photo: Star

The bigger worry would be around high-scoring pitches, given the team's struggles in the West Indies on lavish batting-friendly wickets.

"I expect the pitches in Pakistan to be 300+ wickets. If we bat first, we need to post such scores. Even while defending, we will need to defend such scores. In Dubai, conditions vary at different times. Still, I think scores will be around 260-280. It's tough to predict exact numbers, but historically, that's how it has been," Shanto replied to a question regarding what scores they expect to see in the tournament.

Spinners were especially ineffective on those St. Vincent surfaces and lack of wickets in the middle-overs were an issue. Shanto backed the three spinners in MIraz, Nasum Ahmed and Rishad Hossain to play to their abilities. There are gaps yet, such as Shakib Al Hasan's exclusion, but Shanto did not want to reflect on it at this stage.

This time there is an in-form Taskin Ahmed, and Nahid Rana's raw pace gives them a slight morale-boost. Asked which would be their strongest suit -- the batting or bowling, Shanto felt they have new utilities and now only execution remains.

"We are not thinking separately. At one point, we didn't have quality pace bowlers, but now we have a strong pace-bowling unit. We didn't have wrist spinners before, but now we do. Overall, we have a balanced team. If everyone fulfils their responsibilities properly, we can defeat any team at any time," Shanto concluded.