Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto believes that they were not able to play to their full credential as a batting unit in the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.
The hosts were swept in the series after losing the first Test by 328 runs and the second one by 192 runs. In the four innings of the two Tests, they failed to get past 200 runs mark thrice. Overall they failed to take the score past 200 five times in a row until they were bowled out for 318 in the fourth innings of the final Test while chasing an improbable 511-run target.
“We didn’t bat well throughout the series. There’s no option to give excuses. We can say lots of things but we didn’t bat well as a team in the four innings,” Shanto said after the final Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram today.
“(But) we aren’t as poor a batting unit as we displayed in these two Tests. We are more capable. We have room for improvement both technically and mentally.”
What was blamed for the batting debacle was Bangladesh’s failure to adjust with the three formats of cricket simultaneously. They started the year with BPL T20 and then played a T20 and ODI series against Sri Lanka before playing Test cricket without any first class match in the kitty. Only Mominul Haque, who is considered as Test specialist, had some first class matches of late before the Test and he is the only batter in the team to have made some runs.
Shanto however emphasized on adjusting with three formats at a time like the other teams in the world, in a bid to become a Test giant.
“The way modern cricket is running, those who play the three formats have to make that adjustment. Those who play fewer formats could take better preparations. We have to find a way to adjust to the three formats going forward, and prepare accordingly,” Shanto remarked.
“We always struggle in our batting. But I can tell you that every batter is giving their 100 per cent. They want to contribute to the team. They practice hard. We didn’t get the desired outcome in this game but I firmly believe that we will get the outcome. The way we are working hard, practicing and having desire to improve, I am sure we will see the outcome.”
Apart from batting, Bangladesh’s catching in slip cordon, one of the most important areas of Test cricket and overall fielding was ordinary. In both of the Test matches, they failed to hold on to some crucial catches, which later determined the course of the game.
“Everyone takes their catches in practice. They work hard on their fielding. There’s no answer to why we dropped the catches. We couldn’t take the catches. Everyone though was well prepared as a fielding unit,” a dejected Shanto said about their fielding.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had recently increased the Test match fee to Tk. 8 lakh from Tk. 6 lakh. But still the Test match performance was below par and sometimes was the resemblance of Bangladesh’s early 2000 Test struggle.
“I don’t want to use the words “guilty conscience”. After the team does badly, the players feel bad. They always want to improve. They communicate with each other. We don’t think about Test match fees. We are looking for improvement even when we are doing well. Everyone feels bad when we lose, but we prepare very well. We practice very hard,” Shanto said.
He also stressed upon the requirements of giving this young side sometimes to regroup well.
“This is a very young team. We don’t have much experience. Every player has the desire to improve. Give it more time, the team will make better decisions.”
“There will be a lot of talk outside. It is not in our control. The players back each other. We accept that we didn’t play well. We know what to do to get out of this. We have a bit of time to prepare for the next Test series, those who have the opportunity will do it well.”
