Shanto, miles to go

Najmul Hossain Shanto has shown his capability of leadership in the very first test match as a captain. Under the skillful leadership of this young man, the Bangladeshi boys created a new history, defeating the mighty New Zealand. The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series with a massive 150-run victory in the Sylhet Test. This is the first test victory against the Kiwis on Bangladesh soil. Though Taijul Islam, the left-arm legspinner, was adjudged the 'Man of the Match' award for his excellent bowling, Shanto is also earning praise for leading the team from the front. Cricket lovers started to think Shanto the future captain of Bangladesh.

Yes, Shanto can be the future leader of the Tigers. A few years ago, Mehidy Hasan Miraz was thought as the future captain. Shanto played under the leadership of Miraz in the Under-19 World Cup in 2016. The Bangladesh team secured third place in that tournament. Shanto scored a total of 259 runs at an average of 64.75 in 6 matches. However, captain Miraz surpassed Shanto as he picked up 12 wickets along with 242 runs. The all-rounder also was awarded 'Man of the Tournament' in that World Cup.

Miraz later got the experience of captaincy in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) as well. That memory, however, was not a very pleasant one. Miraz left the captaincy of Chittagong Challengers following a dispute with the Franchise authorities. After that, this all-rounder was subjected to a lot of criticism. Shanto is now at the opposite pole of Miraz. The management of Bangladesh team saw leadership qualities in him. That is why BCB chose Shanto as Shakib Al Hasan's deputy in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, even though Liton Kumar Das was in the squad. The left-hander was not the vice-captain in the pen and papers only, he also captained Bangladesh in two matches in the World Cup. He captained the match against India as Shakib was injured. Due to injury, Shakib could not play in the last match against Australia as well. Therefore, Shanto also led the team in the match against the Aussies.

In the recent past, Shanto had been brutally trolled on social media. There has been a lot of criticism for including him in the Bangladesh squad, the team management also had to digest to criticism. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director Khaled Mahmud Sujon said on a TV show after the match against Afghanistan in the last Asia Cup, "Once, I had to listen to a lot of criticism for keeping Shanto in the team." Among Bangladeshi cricketers, Shanto has probably been trolled the most on social media. He had been called 'Lord', 'Sir' as part of trolling! However, the young man silenced the critics with his performance. The highest run-getter for Bangladesh in the T-20 World Cup in Australia, the highest run-scorer in the BPL and his batting in the last Asia Cup have taken Shanto to another level.

Shanto could not do justice to his name in the recently concluded ODI World Cup in India. However, he had great contribution to Bangladesh's two wins in the World Cup as he scored the team's highest runs in both matches. The top-order batter played an innings of unbeaten 59 runs against Afghanistan. The match against Sri Lanka was very crucial for Bangladesh. Qualification in the ICC Champions Trophy to be held in 2025 depended a lot on this match. Bangladesh won that battle against the Lankans. Shanto played an impeccable innings of 90 runs and made a big contribution to that victory. Playing as captain against Australia, he scored 45 runs off 57 balls. New Zealand has come to Bangladesh after the World Cup. In the absence of Shakib and Liton, Shanto got the responsibility of leading the team. He fulfilled that responsibility very well. The standing captain led the team from the front. In the first innings, he scored 37 runs from 35 balls. However, in the second innings, he played a fabulous innings of 105 runs off 198 balls. It is this innings of the captain that set the platform for winning the Sylhet Test.

Shanto did not enter the national team out of nowhere. He got a place in the team by proving his ability in the age-level games. A decent record of Shanto may be unknown to most cricket fans in Bangladesh. Shanto is the highest run-scorer in the history of Under-19 or Youth ODIs with 1820. Pakistan's Sami Aslam (1695) is second in that list. South Africa's Quinton de Kock (1409) is in fourth place. Surprisingly, Babar Azam, one of the best batsmen of the modern era, is number 13 in this list. Virat Kohli's position is at number 34. Although Shanto's initial days with the national team were very difficult, Shanto is now the epitome of trust for Bangladesh's management. Shanto scored three centuries in his last four innings in Test.

Impressed with Shanto 's batting, many cricket pundits called him 'a horse of long-race'. Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, the most successful captain of the Bangladesh cricket team, is also on this list. Speaking about Shanto during the BPL, Mashrafe said, “It's important to be mentally strong in cricket, which I saw in Shanto's case. He does not pay much attention to external things. In that case, I believe, this boy is a horse of long race. I believe this boy can contribute a lot to Bangladesh." Likewise Mash, we also believe that Shanto will give a lot to Bangladesh and will go miles.