Najmul Hossain Shanto remains hopeful for victory in India vs Bangladesh series

With less than a week remaining for the India vs Bangladesh Tests to begin, the Bangladesh squad has departed for India. As the team embarked on the tour, skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto addressed the media, expressing confidence in facing the hosts. Shanto referenced their recent win in Pakistan as a testament to the team’s potential. Bangladesh has never won a match against India so far. Moreover, with the series set to take place on Indian soil, the chances for Bangladesh to overcome the Test challenge appear slim at the moment. However, coming off a historic victory against Pakistan, Bangladesh will aim to rely on their abilities to pose a threat to the formidable Indian side.

Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto backs his team for the India vs Bangladesh Test challenge

Earlier in September, Bangladesh achieved a 2-0 series sweep over Pakistan in Rawalpindi.The series marked the first-ever victory of Bangladesh against the neighbours. Now, on their way to visit their T20 World Cup winning neighbours, Bangladesh is confident to perform well in the series that starts on September 19. On Sunday, the Test squad departed for India, while the T20I players will join later. As the Bangladesh Test squad readied for the Indian challenge, captain Najmul Shanto talked about the team’s chances to win against the hosts.

"This will be a challenging series for us but after having a good series against Pakistan, there is an extra confidence in our team as well as among all the people of the country," Najmul said.  "Every series is an opportunity and we will play to win both the matches. (We will focus on) the things that we need to do for the win...the process is important and we need to do our job properly,” he added.

The Bangladeshi skipper noted that the team will look to push things to the last session in an attempt to squeeze a win against India. While Shantp expressed that Bangladesh has their strengths and plans sorted, the team will primarily focus on playing good cricket and not on the scenes lying too far ahead in the future.

"If we can do our job properly, certainly a good result is possible but still it's going to be very challenging. If you see the ranking they are far ahead of us but recently we played a good series and the most important thing is how we can play good cricket. The result happens in the last session of the five days and so if we can play good cricket we have a chance to do well in the last session,” Shanto explained. "It is important what plans need to be executed to play well for five days and there will be a chance to win but let's not think too far ahead and focus on our strength and how we can play good cricket," he further said.

"Our pacers are comparatively less experienced," explains Shanto

Najmul Shanto, furthermore, acknowledged that Bangladesh's pace attack lacks the level of experience found in India’s bowling unit. But the captain highlighted that their spinners are versatile and capable of delivering strong performances on any surface. He emphasised that their success in India will hinge on playing as a cohesive unit.

"Our spin and pace is in a good frame. But still if you compare the teams, I feel our pacers are relatively less experienced compared to them," said Najmul. "Spin wise we are close to them but experience wise I would keep them ahead but our spinners can bowl in any condition and I can say this much - that all the players, whether pacers, spinners or batters, whoever will play, every player will give a hundred percent. The difference can be made when we play as a team,” he explained.

Shanto talks about his batting form ahead of the IND vs BAN series

While Shanto is ready with all the plans set for the team, the skipper needs to amp up his batting game to ensure an all-round performance against India. The skipper has not displayed any impressive knocks over the recent past. In the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka earlier this year, he managed only 32 runs at an average of 8. Moreover, Shanto’s contribution with the bat in the victory against Pakistan appeared subdued. The batter managed just 58 runs in three innings against the hosts. When queried about his individual form, the captain looked hopeful of turning things around during the India series.

"My personal goal is that Bangladesh team wins and I feel as a batter if I can contribute to the team. The preparation that is required to do that, I have done. The rest lies in the hand of Allah and I will try my best to contribute for the team."

The India vs Bangladesh series will start on September 19 with the first Test scheduled at Chepauk in Chennai. The India squad will have the likes of Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul returning to the longest format after a considerable hiatus. Pant, specifically, will play his first Test after recovering from the injuries sustained in an unfortunate car accident back in December 2022. The final Test, moreover, is slated to start on September 27 in Kanpur before the three-match T20I series takes off.