Shanto’s dream comes true

"One of my dreams came true," said Najmul Hossain Shanto as he expressed his initial reaction after Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) declared him as the all-format captain yesterday.

The 25-year-old was unable to further convey his feelings to The Daily Star as he is suffering from a sore throat. He afterwards texted that he would like to speak more when he felt better, but Shanto's delight at his new role was palpable.

Following a board meeting held at the BCB headquarters at Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon informed reporters that they had a "lengthy discussion about captaincy" before placing Shanto "as captain for all three formats for this year".

Hassan, also the new youth and sports minister, stated that Shakib Al Hasan was still their "number one choice for captaincy", but they had to make the change due to uncertainty surrounding Shakib's availability following his eye problem.

The BCB chief further informed that they are willing to take some time to designate the vice-captain, and the decision would also be based on the cricketer's availability for different formats.

The decision to appoint Shanto was not surprising, given had led the team in all formats against New Zealand in both home and away series last year while regular captain Shakib was absent.

Under his leadership, the Tigers won their first ODI and T20 matches against New Zealand in New Zealand after clinching their maiden home Test win against the same rivals.

Head coach Chandika Hathurusingha had praised Shanto following the completion of white-ball tour of New Zealand.

"I thought the leadership of Shanto was outstanding. He was tactically spot-on and very clear with the messages to the players and what he expects from them. The environment in the dressing room is much better as the communication is clear from Shanto," the Sri Lankan had said.

Shanto had previously said that he felt "ready" to take over as the Bangladesh skipper after stepping in for the injured Shakib during the ICC ODI World Cup in India last year.

"I've been doing it for a while now and personally, I think I'm ready [to lead Bangladesh]. And if I get the opportunity, definitely, I'm ready. I have learned a lot since it was my first World Cup... Playing in such an environment, this experience will help me," Shanto had said.