Najmul Hossain Shanto collected the Player of the Match award after scores of 101 and 87 guided Bangladesh to a historic 104-run victory over Pakistan in Mirpur, yet the Bangladesh captain walked away from the ground believing he had fallen well short of his own standards.
Shanto was candid in his post-match press conference, insisting that his first innings century should have been converted into something far greater and that a world-class batter in his position would have gone on to make 200.
“If another top batter had been in my place, that 101 might have become 200. That is the honest truth,” Shanto said. “Look at world cricket and see what the top batters do. So I would not say I am in my best form. I think I should have batted much better in the first innings.”
He was equally self-critical when asked to elaborate on the innings itself. “The first innings could have been much bigger given the way I was batting. The first two or three hours at the crease were challenging, but after that the conditions eased. In the second innings, I batted the way I wanted to. The pitch tends to be more difficult on the third and fourth days.”
When asked which batting partner he most enjoys sharing the crease with, Shanto was diplomatic. “I enjoy batting whenever I am scoring runs. I enjoy batting with everyone. I would rather not single anyone out. Mushfiq bhai, Mominul bhai, Litton… I have actually had quite a few opportunities to bat with Litton in Tests.”
During the press conference, Shanto was informed of a remarkable statistical achievement: only two batters in the history of Test cricket have a better record of converting half-centuries into centuries than he does, those being Sir Don Bradman and George Headley. The comparison clearly made him uncomfortable.
“Please, those two names you mentioned, Bradman and Headley, they do not belong in the same conversation as me. Forgive me for saying that,” he said with a laugh. “I enjoy batting. When I am batting, I think like a batter. My job is to score runs. The captaincy happens on the field.”
Beyond his personal performance, Shanto also drew praise for his captaincy decision to declare Bangladesh’s second innings in the first session of the final day, setting Pakistan a target of 268 with 76 overs remaining. With time having been lost to rain across the first four days, the declaration was a calculated gamble that ultimately proved decisive.
Shanto was unapologetic about the call. “From the morning, we were clear about what we wanted to do with the bat. Honestly, we would have liked to add another 15 or 20 runs. But sometimes I feel it is important to make bold decisions like this. As a Test team we are gradually growing and moving forward, so we took a bit of a risk.”
He pointed to the quality of Bangladesh’s bowling attack as the foundation of the decision. “We are not yet at the level of Australia, India or England. But I feel that because we now have five good bowlers, we are able to show this kind of courage.”
Shanto added that maintaining this mindset as Bangladesh continue to develop as a Test-playing nation would only make the team more confident and capable in the years ahead.
