‘Not worried of winning and losing’

Bangladesh Test skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto said on Friday that they are not looking too far ahead as they prepare for the upcoming Test series against Zimbabwe.

The Tigers will be playing a solitary Test match against Zimbabwe in June and after that Shanto and Co will take part in a two-game Test series against Australia the following month.

Bangladesh, who recently clean swept Pakistan in the two-Test series at home, is considered favourites in the lone Test against Zimbabwe, though Shanto refused to accept it as a fact. He even felt if they lose to Zimbabwe it will not be the end of the world.

“Playing Test matches — I think it is always a matter of pride, representing the country is always a matter of great pride for all of us. So instead of thinking about who we are playing or who the opponent is, I personally think about the fact that I am playing a Test match for my country — and our players think the same way,” Shanto told Daily Sun on Friday.

“The Test match against Zimbabwe is very important. And I am not at all worried about winning or losing,” he said.

“What I am saying is how to build my team, how the team moves forward, whether I have all kinds of resources,” he noted.

“And Zimbabwe is very important to prepare ourselves properly before going to Australia. But Zimbabwe is also a very important series in itself — specifically because those who do not always get the opportunity to play may perhaps get that opportunity there,” he stated.

“Altogether I would say yes, winning and losing will happen — and even if I lose there, I would have no problem as long as my players are giving a 100% effort and playing with a 100% preparation. So I am not very bothered about winning and losing and I only think about how my team can go higher,” he added.

Najmul said that playing in Australia will be a new experience for them and insisted that he wants to play five days of good cricket against the Aussies in both the Test matches.

“I have never played there (in Australia) and it will be a new experience. The bowling attack is good. If our batters can play good cricket there, we can compete there too,” Shanto opined.

“If I think very realistically, my first target will be how we compete against that team over five days. If we can get to that point, I think the team will get extra confidence as well. And I would never say that I am going there just to win — of course every person plays to win, wherever they play. So that will obviously be our target. But how much we are competing with them over five days — that is more important,” he added.

Shanto recently turned out to be Bangladesh's most successful Test captain, having won eight Test matches as a captain.

Apart from that, Bangladesh became the number seven team in the ICC Test rankings for the first time while the Tigers are now fifth in the World Test Championship standings. 

Shanto though said that he is not worried about records.

“I am playing cricket right now. Honestly, records and history — these things will always be there. Records are made and broken. But I am playing cricket — that is what is important to me. And at the end of my career, people will talk about what I actually managed to achieve. But since I am still playing, I am just enjoying the game,” said Shanto.

“To be very honest, I was not worried about records at all. Winning eight Test matches as captain — that has become something very big. Or the Test team reaching seventh in the rankings — that is also a big achievement, I would say. But still, my expectations, my wishes, my dreams are much bigger. So I do not want to be satisfied with this record or this achievement in anyway. Of course it feels good. As a human being, if I say that I am not happy, that would be a lie. I am happy, things are going well. But I believe this team has much further to go, and my expectations and dreams are much bigger,” he concluded.