Another Test match for Bangladesh, another major distraction. Shakib Al Hasan’s farewell-that-wasn’t and the messy handling of Chandika Hathurusinghe’s exit dominated the headlines around their previous Test, while the Test prior to this series, in Kanpur against India, had Shakib’s retirement news all over it. And now, they will play the second Test against South Africa in Chattogram with a reluctant captain.
The situation is far from ideal – as if being 1-0 down at home wasn’t bad enough.
Bangladesh aren’t great at recovering after losing a first Test either. The only time they have done it against a noteworthy opponent was eight years ago, when England were over. For them to get their act together will take a big effort, particularly from that same reluctant captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto.
Shanto has informed the BCB that he wants to give up captaincy, across formats. It was only eight months ago that the BCB appointed him. He has reportedly said that among the reasons for his reluctance to continue is his own batting form. Since February, he has averaged 20.92 in seven Tests with just one half-century.
So far, from the BCB, only director Nazmul Abedeen has spoken on the matter. He said that the board is open to discussing the issue with Shanto once president Faruque Ahmed returns to Dhaka on Monday evening.
Now, the Test starts on Tuesday. So the discussions between Shanto and Faruque will have to be during the Chattogram Test. This is because Bangladesh have an ODI series against Afghanistan starting November 6 in the UAE, four days after the Chattogram Test’s scheduled fifth day.
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Shanto’s drop in form since becoming captain has been stark. He had said earlier this year that he has the ability to detach his leadership role when he is batting. Shanto’s batting during these last eight months hasn’t reflected that.
It started in fairy-tale fashion, though. Shanto hit 105 in over four hours against New Zealand in his first Test as captain, in Sylhet last year, leading Bangladesh to a 150-run win. At the time, he was a stop-gap appointment as then captain Shakib was injured and Litton Das was on paternity leave. Shanto was impressive again on the white-ball tour to New Zealand later in the year in December. Hathurusinghe backed him as the permanent captain.
But then things changed. His form and Bangladesh’s results both went downwards since March this year. Their T20I series defeat against USA was followed by a lukewarm T20 World Cup, and that put pressure on Shanto. The Test series win in Pakistan this year changed things again, and while it might be fair to overlook the team’s performance in India thereafter, the pressure has come right back after the Dhaka Test defeat against South Africa.
Shanto made 7 and 23. South Africa got their first Test win in the subcontinent in ten years.
For a young man – Shanto is just 26 – everything going on around the team must be tough to deal with. The Shakib saga – his political connections, the murder charge, and now his inability to return to Bangladesh because of security threats – since August has been exhausting to keep up with. Shanto didn’t appear too worried about the political side of things, but he has had to deal with Shakib, Bangladesh’s best cricketer, being mostly unprepared ahead of two major Test series. Shakib’s lack of overs in both the Chennai and Kanpur Tests raised eyebrows. Shanto pointed to the conditions by way of explanation, but Shakib’s bowling form was a concern.
Shanto also witnessed Hathurusinghe’s exit up close. Faruque had spoken about wanting a new coach on his first day in office. The pressure on the coach continued until six days before the Dhaka Test against South Africa. BCB suspended Hathurusinghe and appointed Phil Simmons, and then sacked Hathurusinghe two days later. For a captain who was planning the next Test match with the coach, this must have been confusing if not worse. Shanto made the right noises, but that was only for the wider world. It was, like much else, far from ideal.
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The BCB’s main reason for appointing Shanto full time was to lead Bangladesh’s transition from the era of the senior players into the next. Shanto was appointed vice-captain during the 2023 ODI World Cup, amid the messy change of baton between Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan. He was Bangladesh’s best batter in 2023, and brought with him calm and composure, so he seemed the natural choice.
When Shakib was injured, Shanto stepped up. Litton was the other choice but the BCB said that Litton was reluctant to lead the side. Now, in less than a year, Shanto and Litton are seemingly speaking the same language.
Much of this is down to the price a Bangladesh captain has to pay.
Like Shanto, Mominul Haque lost form after becoming Test captain and nearly lost his place in the team in 2022. He resigned after that. Shakib never really warmed up to the Test captaincy even though he was appointed a few times since 2018. Mushfiqur Rahim was the last captain who enjoyed a favourable Test run as a batter, but his tenure also ended when his batting form dipped.
Shanto is also unlikely to be the last to be in the position.
The BCB could talk him out of resigning. If they don’t, or can’t, Shanto’s long-time friend Mehidy Hasan Miraz might be the front-runner to take over at least in Tests, while Towhid Hridoy’s name is dong the rounds in the media for the T20I job. There is no clear candidate for ODIs at this stage.
But Mehidy has just started to make meaningful all-round contributions in the last 12 months, while Hridoy is quite new to the international arena. Do they have it in them to be Bangladesh’s long-term captain, in one format or another? Questions, debates, discussions… it will all go on parallelly to the Chattogram Test. Bangladesh’s players showed that they can ignore distractions and thrive in nothing-to-lose situations, like in Pakistan. If they are to do it again, Shanto, for a last time perhaps, has to show them the way.
