Although his team achieved a huge victory in Chattogram to tie the two-match Test series against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto expressed his dissatisfaction, saying they might have performed better. As they get ready for their upcoming Test series, which is set to begin in Sri Lanka in June, Najmul continued, they must turn their beginnings into significant scores.
In the first Test, Zimbabwe defeated Bangladesh, but the hosts pulled off a spectacular comeback in the second Test to save face.
After the game, Najmul said to reporters, “I’m not really happy,” “We ought to have played better cricket throughout the entire series. In the first test, we didn’t do well. “This is a series we should have won, even though we made a comeback,” he remarked.
“It was crucial to recover from our subpar performance in the first Test match. We have the ability since we have already won in Pakistan and the West Indies. All we have to do is play to the best of our abilities.
“This type of scoreline is not what I want as captain. I would be happy if Shadman scored 200, I scored 100, or Mushfiqur Rahim scored 150 than if everyone scored 40s. It is hardly encouraging to lose a wicket after being set because it undermines our confidence. “Whoever gets set in Sri Lanka should score between 150 and 200,” he stated.
“The Sri Lanka series holds great importance. Instead of getting out on 40s, I would expect top order batters to get high scores. The pacers have their job because Sri Lankan pitches are typically quite athletic. I hope someone reaches 150 or 200. If we wish to win regularly abroad, we must get to that level.”
Mehidy Hasan has a huge job with the ball, thus Najmul rejected suggestions for him to be moved up the order. Mehidy has been on the rise for the past year, scoring 598 runs and taking 41 wickets in Test matches, making him Bangladesh’s top run scorer and wicket-taker within that period.
In the process, he became the second Bangladeshi player after Shakib Al Hasan to attain the milestone, becoming the 26th Test cricketer to reach 2000 Test runs and 200 wickets. Mehidy appeared to be in a different zone on the third day of the second Test, as he helped Bangladesh amass 444 with a superb century and then took five wickets to dismiss Zimbabwe for 111, giving his team a 106-run victory.
“If you enquire as to how high—four or five? That’s really difficult, particularly in this format (the test),” Najmul added. “At six-seven, he is doing well. He is putting in a lot of effort because he understands how crucial his bowling is. He continued, “We want him to continue contributing in the same manner.
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