Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has put their impressive Test series in Australia behind him, with his focus now on adapting to the different conditions in Abu Dhabi ahead of their one-off Test against Afghanistan.
Bangladesh will face Afghanistan at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on October 9, and Shanto believes adjusting quickly to the new conditions and opposition will be key.
“We had a good series against Australia, but I believe that is past. This is a new condition, a new opponent, so we have to plan accordingly,” Shanto told reporters in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Several Bangladesh players arrived in the UAE early and played a practice match to get used to the conditions. Shanto believes that experience will help the team prepare for the Test.
“The conditions are obviously different here. Some of the players came a bit earlier and played a practice match, so that will help us adjust to these conditions. I believe the players are ready and they will adjust to the conditions and the opponent as well,” he said.
Bangladesh have made progress in Test cricket over the past couple of years, according to Shanto, but the captain believes there is still plenty of room for improvement.
“Over the last couple of years, we have been playing some good cricket, especially in this format. That is what we wanted as a Test team. We have been working really hard back home on how we can improve our Test cricket,” he said.
Shanto now wants Bangladesh to build greater consistency by testing themselves against different opponents in different conditions.
“We are trying to improve our game and we have been doing well over the last couple of years. But I believe we still have a lot of work to do to improve our skills, especially in this format, and play against different opponents in different conditions. We have to be consistent. As I mentioned, we have played some good cricket, but there are still a lot of things we need to improve.”
