Shanto’s new beginning in old role
On November 11, 2023, after Bangladesh's final match in the ICC World Cup ended in a sound defeat to Australia, Najmul Hossain Shanto, who had captained in that game in place of the injured Shakib Al Hasan, boldly told the media that he was ready to lead the Tigers full-time if the opportunity arises.
Since that match in Pune, Bangladesh have played eight matches across three formats -- two Tests, three ODIs, and three Twenty20s -- all against New Zealand, under the captaincy of Shanto.
Today, the left-handed batter is set to once again lead the Tigers onto the field for the first T20 of a three-match series against Sri Lanka at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
This time, however, he will not be leading the team as a stand-in but as Bangladesh's new all-format skipper, set to captain the team for all of 2024.
"Every cricketer dreams of leading their country. I am grateful to the Bangladesh Cricket Board for giving me this opportunity and I am very happy," Shanto told the reporters in Sylhet yesterday.
The 25-year-old took over the role from Shakib, who had incidentally become Bangladesh's first three-format captain in almost a decade after being named the ODI captain for the World Cup following Tamim Iqbal's resignation. Shakib was already leading the team in the other two formats.
Overall, Shanto has led Bangladesh in 11 matches -- two Tests, six ODIs, and three T20Is -- winning three matches, one in each format, suffering seven defeats while one T20 in Mount Maunganui got washed out.
His win-loss ratio as captain doesn't look too impressive, but the three wins that came under him against New Zealand were monumental.
Under Shanto, Bangladesh ended their winless streak in ODIs and T20s in New Zealand and achieved their first home Test win against the Kiwis.
The pressure of captaincy also brought the best out of Shanto as a batter, as the left-hander averages 36.63 across three formats while leading the team, considerably higher than his average of 29.84 when playing without captaincy.
Before beginning his journey as the long-term captain, Shanto has already set a number of lofty goals for the team in different formats.
"I don't think we have progressed much in Test cricket. But compared to where we were before, we have begun playing good cricket in Tests. Personally, I want to win most of our home matches and build up the importance of playing Tests in the team. When we tour abroad, I want us to compete.
"We are doing well in ODIs but we haven't won a trophy as a team. We will plan on how to do well in big tournaments and win trophies for the country. The last year went very well for us in T20s. We have improved and if we can improve even further then we can win against any country in any condition."
Although achieving these goals will be a challenge, Shanto believes they can do it if they play as a unit. "It's very important to play as a team. If we look at last year, all the players contributed to the matches. We need to continue doing that. Trusting each other is also vital."