All-format captain Shanto 'feeling no pressure'

Najmul Hossain Shanto, the new captain of Bangladesh in all three formats, expects his first assignment as a full-time captain against Sri Lanka to be a competitive one.

The 25-year-old batter will lead Bangladesh in the three-match T20I series against visiting Sri Lanka, starting in Sylhet tomorrow before leading the team in three ODIs and two Test matches.

Ahead of the first match, Shanto spoke to the media in Sylhet and spoke of what he needs to do as a captain. "I think it will be easier from a planning point of view. I'll need to know every player. Since I'll be the captain in three formats, it will be easier," Shanto said.

The left-handed batter came off a poor run of form in the Bangladesh Premier League with Sylhet Strikers, scoring only 175 runs in 12 innings. However, he doesn't feel captaincy as an added burden on his batting.

"It's not that I will need to do something special when I'm the captain. I'll have to score anyways as a batter. First of all, I am a batter and my job is to score runs for the team," said Shanto, replaces Shakib Al Hasan as the captain of the national team.

Shanto also spoke about the rivalry between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, on and off the field. "I'm not thinking about things outside the field. What happened in the past is in the past. I feel it will be a good series. Both teams will try to win. We are doing and will do everything for victory.

"We are not feeling any pressure. We are focused on our game. We are only thinking about what we can control. ...Every international series has pressure. That is true for us as well as the opposition team, but we are matured enough to handle that," said the new captain.