Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha praised Najmul Hossain Shanto’s captaincy and leadership ability, calling him as a good prospect to take over as captain of the Tigers in the long term.
Bangladesh’s Najmul Hossain Shanto-led team began their third World Test Championship cycle with a bang, thumping a full-strength New Zealand side by 150 runs in the first of two Tests in Sylhet last Saturday.
Shanto, who is captaining the squad in the absence of regular skipper Shakib Al Hasan, who is out with a finger injury, received a lot of respect and love for the way he handled things on his first appearance as captain.
“His captaincy was excellent because tactically he was spot on.” He was usually one step ahead of the game. He has also set extremely excellent field placements, sometimes unconventional but very efficient’, Hathurusingha remarked on Tuesday, before of the Tigers’ second Test in Mirpur tomorrow.
Shanto became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to reach a century on his Test captaincy debut with a 198-ball 105 in the Sylhet Test.
“His leadership was also outstanding.” With his performance, he led from the front, commanding respect and demanding the standard [from players]. That’s great news. I believe he has a bright future ahead of him. The board must make a judgement about his captaincy or leadership [in the long run], and the board will make that decision when the time comes,” Hathurusingha remarked.
Shanto has voiced his desire to take on the captaincy job in the long term just before the commencement of the Test series, stating that he has the “ability to lead the team in all formats.”
“Definitely,” Hathurusingha said today when asked if Shanto was a serious contender for captaincy.