There is hardly a greater contrast between the captains of Bangladesh and New Zealand. Tim Southee is a 94-Test veteran who is on par with his nation’s top fast bowlers. Meanwhile, Najmul Hossain Shanto recently finished his first full year of reliable play.
Since December of last year, Southee, who debuted in 2008, has led New Zealand in Test cricket since his 89th match. After just 23 Test matches, Shanto is in his fifth year as Bangladesh’s captain.
It is therefore to be expected that their perspectives on the World Test Championship are very varied.
With the first series taking place in Bangladesh, Southee hopes to leverage his side’s expertise from their recent trips to the subcontinent to construct the new cycle. Despite having five spinners on their roster, Southee thinks that New Zealand will have a difficult time defeating the home team.
“The circumstances are different from those in New Zealand,” Southee remarked. “In New Zealand, pace is very important. In this corner of the world, spin has historically played a significant role. In tests, our spinners have performed admirably. We are excited for them to demonstrate their abilities. To simply obtain the (WTC) points won’t be simple. We are aware that, given the circumstances, Bangladesh is a fantastic team. A closely contested Test series is what I envision.
“This role differs from what we are accustomed to in New Zealand.” There are three seamen present, each with unique skills. No matter where you play in the world, you are a part of a collective bowling unit. Everybody chips differently. Although spin isn’t really important in New Zealand, it will be in Bangladesh.
During the pre-match news conference for Bangladesh, Shanto had to answer inquiries over his upcoming debut as captain in this format. Since September, he has captained Bangladesh in three One-Day Internationals (ODIs), including two World Cup games. This time around, he was given the post after both Shakib Al Hasan, the normal Test captain, and Litton Das, his deputy, were forced to miss the series due to finger injuries.
“It is hard to pinpoint what I learned from those two games (in the World Cup),” he stated. Additionally, the format was altered. I was able to figure out little things like what to do in specific circumstances. As a team, New Zealand is strong. They have strength. The Test series will present them with challenges. However, we should be able to push them with our hitters and spinners because we are playing at home. Planned well, we can defeat this team.”
Shanto also thought that a captain for Bangladesh should preferably be chosen with the long term in mind.
He stated, “It helps to plan better.” “I hope the board gives a long-term captain some thought. However, I don’t believe the players are giving this any thought. A captain is going to do his job. When each member executes their own task, the team always performs well.”
Meanwhile, Southee talked about how he plans to make excellent use of the team’s recent World Cup experience playing in India as well as their two-Test series in Pakistan at the beginning of the year in Bangladesh.
“We glanced over the (Sylhet) wicket. This place hasn’t hosted many Test matches. Thus, the amount of data and statistics to refer to is limited. I believe a decent surface is what we should anticipate. Spin will undoubtedly have an impact on the game. Earlier in the year, we performed in Pakistan. The boys had been in the subcontinent for a long time.
“I believe we will examine the wicket in more detail. Some help is on the way in the morning. When you play during this time of year, this is what you get. We have started our training a little early. Thus, in training, the wickets have been decent.”
Shanto expressed his confidence in Bangladesh’s batters’ ability to recover from a disappointing World Cup. According to him, those who were lately participating in domestic first-class cricket, such as Mominul Haque, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, and Zakir Hasan, would also be relieved of their World Cup obligations.
“In the NCL this season, Zakir Hasan, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, and Mominul Haque Sourav bhai all performed admirably. They have performed well in this competition. I participated in one game (post-World Cup). It was a different format, but we clearly had a difficult time. Right now, we’re having tests. We would like to pick up where we left off with the June Afghanistan Test.”
