Can defeat any team if we give our best: Najmul Hossain Shanto

Bangladesh is riding the high of winning their first overseas Test series in Pakistan. When they reached Dhaka victorious, they received a big welcome at the Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport on Thursday (September 5). 

Speaking to the reporters, skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto expressed confidence in his players' ability to repeat their historic feat if they followed the same process. 

“Every cricketer will gain confidence from such a series win,” Shanto said. 

“The team's morale will be boosted. The series against India will definitely be challenging, and we need to come up with a new plan. If we give our best performance, we can achieve good results.

“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). 

“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),” the left-hander said. 

Despite the series victory, an axe hangs over head coach Chandika Hathurusingha as the new Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief, Faruque Ahmed, revealed that they are looking for better alternatives for the position.

However, skipper Shanto made it clear that the entire team supports the coach and that he played a critical role in the team’s series win against Pakistan. 

“I think the players are really clear with the coach, and he was really supportive and gave proper plans to every player, and the atmosphere in the dressing room was really wonderful,” Shanto said. 

“Those who performed and didn't perform 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.”

Meanwhile, Shanto also expressed his support for Shakib Al Hasan, who has an FIR registered against him along with 147 other people. Shakib didn’t travel with the team to Bangladesh; he flew to England to play County cricket before flying to India for the Test series starting September 19. 

“The matter of Shakib Bhai is a different issue,” skipper Shanto said. 

“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.”

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