Another Test match for Bangladesh, another major distraction. The failure to say goodbye to Shakib Al Hasan and the chaotic handling of Chandika Hathurusinghe’s exit dominated the headlines surrounding the previous Test, while the Test before this series, in Kanpur against India, had news of Shakib’s retirement everywhere. 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 0-1 down at home wasn’t bad enough.
Bangladesh are also not able to recover particularly well after their defeat in the first Test. The only time they did that against significant opposition was eight years ago, when England were eliminated. It will take a lot of effort for them to pull themselves together, especially from the same hesitant captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto.
Shanto has informed the BCB that he wants to forego the captaincy across formats. The BCB appointed him just eight months ago. He has reportedly said that one of the reasons for his reluctance to continue is his own batting form. Since February, he has averaged 20.92 in seven Tests with just a half-century.
So far, only BCB director Nazmul Abedeen has commented on the issue. He said the board was ready to discuss the issue with Shanto once President Faruque Ahmed returned to Dhaka on Monday evening.
Now the test begins on Tuesday. So the discussions between Shanto and Faruque must take place during the chattogram test. This is because Bangladesh will play an ODI series against Afghanistan in the UAE on November 6, four days after the scheduled fifth day of the Chattogram Test.
Shanto’s loss of form since his appointment as captain was clear. He had said earlier this year that he had the ability to release his leadership role in batting. Shanto’s beatings over the last eight months have not reflected that.
However, it started like a fairytale. Shanto scored 105 in over four hours in his first Test as captain against New Zealand in Sylhet last year and led Bangladesh to a 150-run win. At that time, he was a substitute as then captain Shakib was injured and Litton Das was on paternity leave. Shanto was impressive again later in December on the white-ball tour to New Zealand. Hathurusinghe supported him as permanent captain.
Bangladesh’s players have shown that they can ignore distractions and thrive in situations where there is nothing to lose, like in Pakistan. If they want to do it again, Shanto may have to show them the way one last time
But then things changed. Both his form and Bangladesh’s results have declined since March this year. The T20I series loss to USA was followed by a lukewarm T20 World Cup that put Shanto under pressure. The Test series win in Pakistan this year changed things again and while one might discount the team’s performance in India after that, the pressure came right back after the Test loss to South Africa in Dhaka.
Shanto made 7 and 23. South Africa claimed their first Test victory on the subcontinent in ten years.
For a young man – Shanto is only 26 – everything that is going on in the team must be difficult to cope with. The Shakib saga – his political connections, the murder charges and now his inability to return to Bangladesh because of security threats – since August has been tiring. Shanto didn’t seem too worried about the political side of things, but he did have to deal with the fact that Shakib, Bangladesh’s best cricketer, was largely unprepared ahead of two major Test series. Shakib’s missing overs in both the Chennai and Kanpur Tests raised eyebrows. Shanto pointed to the conditions for explanation, but Shakib’s bowling form was a cause for concern.
Shanto also witnessed Hathurusinghe’s exit from close quarters. Faruque spoke on his first day in office about wanting a new coach. The pressure on the coach continued until six days before the Dhaka Test against South Africa. BCB suspended Hathurusinghe, appointed Phil Simmons and sacked Hathurusinghe two days later. For a captain planning the next friendly with the coach, this must have been confusing, if not worse. Shanto made all the right noises, but that was only for the wider world. Like many things, it was far from ideal.
The BCB’s main reason for appointing Shanto as a full-time player was to lead Bangladesh’s transition from the senior player era to the next. Shanto was named vice-captain during the 2023 ODI World Cup amid the chaotic baton swap between Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan. He was Bangladesh’s best batsman in 2023 and brought calm and composure with him so he seemed the natural choice.
When Shakib was injured, Shanto stepped in. Litton was the other choice but the BCB said that Litton was not ready to lead the team. Now, in less than a year, Shanto and Litton appear to be speaking the same language.
A large part of this is due to the price a captain has to pay in Bangladesh.
Like Shanto, Mominul Haque lost his form after becoming Test captain and almost lost his place in the team in 2022. He then resigned. Despite being named Test captain a few times since 2018, Shakib was never able to truly get comfortable with being a Test captain. Mushfiqur Rahim was the last captain to have a good Test run as a batsman but his reign also ended when his batting form declined.
It is also unlikely that Shanto will be the last in this position.
The BCB could talk him out of resigning. If they don’t or can’t, Shanto’s long-time friend Mehidy Hasan Miraz could be the frontrunner to take the lead at least in the Tests, while Towhid Hridoy’s name is bandied about in the media for the T20I job. There is currently no clear candidate for ODIs.
But Mehidy has only just started to make significant all-round contributions in the last 12 months, while Hridoy is still fairly new to the international stage. Do they have what it takes to captain Bangladesh in the long term in one form or another? Questions, debates, discussions… everything will continue in parallel with the chattogram test. Bangladesh’s players have shown that they can ignore distractions and thrive in situations where there is nothing to lose, like in Pakistan. If they want to do it again, Shanto may have to show them the way one last time.
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