Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto credited his team’s morale and desire to confront their demons with beating Pakistan 2-0 in the away series. Bangladesh completed a whitewash over the hosts despite never having won a single Test match against them in the lead-up to the series. Skipper Shanto praised every member of his team and credited the positive team atmosphere for this splendid result.
Very little was expected from Bangladesh when they flew into Pakistan for this series, but what they ended up doing will warm the hearts of each and every one of their countrymen and women who have been in the midst of a great upheaval. Bangladesh is going through turbulent times domestically after their former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, fled the country to avoid the wrath of the common public. This win will give a massive boost in confidence to a country that is in transition.
“Every cricketer will gain confidence from such a series win. The team’s morale will be boosted. The series against India will be challenging, and we need to develop a new plan. If we give our best performance, we can achieve good results,” Shanto told reporters.
“Every match is approached with the belief that we play to win, and we needed a solid example, and we’ve provided that this time (with the clean sweep of Pakistan),” he said. “We know if we continue to play and give our best in the game, we can defeat any team. Instead of focusing too much on the results, we should concentrate on our process. I believe we can perform well in the next two series (against India and South Africa).”
A lot of controversy surrounded the future of head coach Chandika Hathurusingha when the newly elected Bangladesh Cricket Board chairman, Faruque Ahmed, made a statement a while ago saying that they were keen on looking at other options. However, Hathurusingha has said he wants to sit down with the new management before deciding on his future. As for Shanto, he felt that the team enjoyed the atmosphere Hathurusingha created and the love and support he gave to everyone on the tour.
“Very good. I think the players are clear with the coach. He was supportive and gave proper plans to every player, and the atmosphere in the dressing room was wonderful,” said Najmul.
“Those who performed and didn’t all were supporting and backing one another. All the coaches were with the players both at good and bad times. According to me the coach played a great role in the dressing room in this series,” he said.
Another controversy that has surrounded Bangladesh cricket of late is the accusation of star cricketer Shakib Al Hasan in a murder case. For those unaware, Shakib was a minister in the erstwhile government led by Prime Minister Hasina. As a result of the allegations, Shakib refused to come back to Bangladesh after the series win and chose to play county cricket in England instead. He will directly fly into India when Bangladesh tour the country in late September for a full-fledged series. The issue was expected to be discussed during a reception in honour of the victorious Bangladesh side.
“The matter of Shakib Bhai is a different issue. However, every player supports Shakib Bhai. We all know how dedicated he is to playing and how passionate he is about the game. He always thinks of the team first. If the issue is discussed with the Chief Advisor during the reception, every player will be on the side of Shakib,” said Najmul.
