Bangladesh captain Najmul Shanto said his team is confident about the upcoming Test series against India after their 2-0 win against Pakistan. The first match of the two-Test series against India will start on Thursday in Chennai. After the Test series, Bangladesh will also play a three-match T20 series. For the IND vs BAN Test series, Shanto warns India to be careful as they are confident that they can take the match in the final session and ultimately win it.
Addressing a press conference before leaving for India, Najmul Shanto said, “It will be a challenging series but the series against Pakistan has given us extra confidence. I think there is this confidence within the entire country now. Every series is an opportunity. We both want to win the test match but for this we have to stick to our strategy and we can get good results.”
“They (India) are much ahead of us in the rankings. But in recent times we have played well. We want to play well for 5 days and that is our target. We want the result of the match in the final session of the 5th day. If this happens then the match can go either way. This is an opportunity to get the first win in India. We will play with the thought of winning in mind but we do not want to think too far ahead. We just want to play well for five days and play to our strengths. And that’s what’s most important.”
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Bangladesh had impressed with their performance in Pakistan. Due to the combined contribution of batsmen and bowlers, Bangladesh won the first test by 10 wickets and the second test by 4 wickets. The fast bowlers took all 10 wickets in Pakistan’s second innings in the second Test. Shanto knows that Bangladesh’s fast bowling attack is not as experienced as India’s but their fast bowlers will enter the field with a positive mindset after the recent series win. However, Shanto also believes that the trio of Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam and Mehdi Hasan Miraz is no less than India’s spin attack.
Bangladesh are ready for their late #WTC25 push 👊
More from #INDvBAN 👉 https://t.co/Q9KwfsKazz pic.twitter.com/FIldCYLeXo
— ICC (@ICC) September 16, 2024
He said, “We are in a good position in the bowling attack. Our fast bowlers are less experienced than their attack but our spin attack is no less than them. Our spinners can bowl in any conditions. All I can say is I believe that our fast bowlers, spinners and batsmen will all give their 100 percent. If we play as a team then we can definitely make a difference. Not only the spinners but also the batsmen will have to play together. “
While playing against Pakistan, Bangladesh’s batsmen showed signs of returning to form. They have not performed well in the last one year as they were able to cross the 300 mark only once in the home series against Sri Lanka earlier this year. But they batted brilliantly in the first Test in Rawalpindi. Mushfiqur Rahim scored 191 runs while three other batsmen scored half-centuries. After a poor performance by the top order, Liton Das scored his fourth Test century while Mehdi scored his second half-century of the series.
Shanto and Shakib did not perform that well in that series. Shanto had scored a total of 1650 runs in 2023 across all formats with 5 centuries. However, he could not do justice to his performance in Pakistan, scoring only one century so far this year. Whereas Shakib has scored only one half-century in the last 16 innings. He has bowled well though, most recently taking 9 wickets against Somerset for Surrey. He will reach India directly from London to join his team.
Shanto said, “My personal goal is for the team to win. I want to contribute to the team as a batsman and for this I have prepared to the best of my ability. I hope he (Shakib) will do well.”
On Sunday, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Farooq Ahmed said that the Bangladesh team will donate a part of the bonus received after the Pakistan series win.
Ahmed said, “The captain (Shanto) has said that he will give a part of his bonus to the flood-affected people and those affected in the student-led movement. The amount for winning the two Tests and the series is Rs 3.2 crore BDT (Bangladeshi Taka, approx 2 lakh 70 thousand US dollars) has also been added. A part of the amount will go to the relief fund of the flood affected people.
