Najmul Hossain Shanto's captaincy has meaningfully impacted Bangladesh's Test team. The 2-0 win over Pakistan demonstrated Shanto's involvement in a spectrum of bold decisions that put the team well ahead of their opposition. The shift towards sporting pitches at home and maintaining the right balance of promise and experience within the team were major off-the-field decisions. Shanto has taken bold on-field decisions too, like declaring the Bangladesh innings during a tight moment in the Dhaka Test, as well as making several clever bowling changes in both Tests.
The series win over Pakistan has lifted his profile. Bangladesh have now won four Tests in a row for the first time in their history, and they have also become the first team to whitewash Pakistan home and away - Shanto led them to the 2-0 win in Rawalpindi in 2024. Shanto now holds the record for most Test wins as Bangladesh captain, overtaking Mushfiqur Rahim who won seven Tests as captain. It is a testament of Shanto's persistence and patience as a leader after having gone through several twists and turns in the last two and a half years.
Bangladesh came into this Test series on the back of a slightly improved showing in white-ball cricket. It was, however, not fully convincing, with the recent ODI-series win over New Zealand coming against an under-strength opposition. Bangladesh skipping the T20 World Cup for political reasons had also been weighing heavily on the top figures in cricket in the country.
Shanto was among the group of decision-makers who called for sporting pitches for Dhaka and Sylhet. It was a bold step, particularly for a Test series against Pakistan, who have a reputation for the strength of their fast bowling. Bangladesh's think-tank, however, took a more practical approach by weighing their own strengths against those of their opposition.
The good form of their fast bowlers, particularly that of the pacy Nahid Rana, convinced captain Shanto, head coach Phil Simmons and senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin that sporting pitches was the way to go.
Shanto led by example on the first day of the series, attacking his way to his ninth Test century. The innings set the tone for Bangladesh as they took a slim lead, and then went into the fifth day with the game evenly poised.
Shanto then took a decision that could have a long-term consequence on Bangladesh cricket. He declared the innings with Pakistan needing 268 to win in roughly 70 overs. It was an unprecedented decision by a Bangladesh captain; in the past, they have usually been happy to ensure a draw in such situations. Shanto trusted his attack to bowl out Pakistan, which it did.
The decision to continue with the sporting-pitch template in Sylhet would not have been an easy one. Shanto & co could have taken the route of going for a flat batting track, which is typical of the venue. But they did not, and Bangladesh won with a mix of pace and spin again, while their experienced batters took advantage of good batting conditions in the middle of the Test match - also a characteristic of the ground.
From his first Test as captain against New Zealand in November 2023, Shanto has been a noticeably proactive leader on the field. During the Pakistan series, it was notable that he made an effort to not let batters settle into the rhythm of facing spin from both ends, and that he tended to use pace from one end and spin from the other. Taskin Ahmed and Mehidy Hasan Miraz combined to engineer Pakistan's batting collapse on the third day in Dhaka. Rana and Taijul Islam bowled well in tandem throughout the series.
Shanto's decision to hand the second new ball to Taijul in a pivotal moment of the Sylhet Test looked like an inspired move. In essence, he read the game situation well, but also kept the bowler's mentality in mind while making his decision. Taijul was bowling well throughout the session, but with a ball that was in really poor condition. As soon as the new ball was available, Shanto believed Taijul could make it talk. The result: he bowled Salman Agha through the gate, breaking a 134-run partnership in Pakistan's fourth innings.
"When you have five bowlers, you have options in your hand. I believe you need five bowlers to take 20 wickets," Shanto said. "This time we took the challenge of playing five bowlers in both Tests, something that didn't dare do in the past."
Shanto was also quite communicative with the batters in the middle. During the first day in Sylhet, when Litton Das was batting with the tail, he sent a message to the dressing room asking about the approach to adopt. He was asked to attack, which he did, and brought up his sixth Test century. It was a difficult process to bat with Bangladesh's notoriously fickle tail, but Litton used all of his experience. Both he and Shanto acknowledged later that pitch-to-dressing-room communication made it possible.
Shanto said after the Sylhet win that he doesn't want to settle for one or two series wins. He said that batting first in tough conditions was one of the big learnings for his side.
"I am hopeful of even greater achievements for Bangladesh," he said. "Overall, these four Tests were really special for the team. We have to keep building our Test team. Once we win consistently at home and abroad, I can say that the team is better than before.
"I think declaring the second innings in the first Test was a big moment in our cricket. I think it will help us in the future. We lost both tosses in the series too, and were sent in to bat in tough conditions. We therefore found out that our batting can get us into good positions despite being put into bat in tough conditions."
It isn't a big surprise that Shanto has gone past Mushfiqur with the most Test wins as a Bangladesh captain. He has settled into his role in a significantly better manner than the three predecessors who have led in at least as many Tests (18) as him. He has had the resources, particularly with the ball, that they largely lacked, and he has made excellent use of them. Habibul Bashar, the current selector, won just one Test in his time as captain in 18 matches. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur won three in their first 18 Tests.
Another sign of how much Shanto relishes leadership is his improvement as a batter while being captain. He has the highest average (40.79) among Bangladesh top-order batters since November 2023, when he first led the Test side. He has scored five centuries as captain, which has improved his overall fifty-to-hundred conversion rate.
"Shanto is batting really well. I think his biggest plus is that he takes leadership positively," Mushfiqur said. "He leads by example, so we are all bound to follow him. I think he is a great leader. I am hopeful that he continues to bat in this consistent way in Tests and other formats too."
Shanto said after the Test series that his background knowledge of most of his team-mates has helped him lead the side.
"I am certainly enjoying leading the side," he said. "I have been playing with these same players in many different teams, including BPL, BCL and NCL. We know how each other's thoughts. I have a fair idea how a player has to be utilised for the benefit of the team. I am quite clear about who to bowl when. I don't do much, to be honest. I just hand over the ball to the bowlers. The credit is all theirs."
Shanto was made captain in 2023 as a stopgap option, while the BCB's Nazmul Hassan regime was trying to sort things out with Shakib Al Hasan. Shanto impressed coach Chandika Hathurusingha after two tours, though it took him a while to become the permanent captain. The BCB appointed him captain in all formats, but then started to pull back his responsibilities in the wake of batting failures and series defeats. First the T20I captaincy went, and then the BCB's interim leadership took away the ODI captaincy too. Shanto felt betrayed on that day, quitting the Test captaincy soon after, only for the board to reinstate him later in the year.
The Pakistan series win, and especially the way it was achieved, should convince those taking bigger decisions in Bangladesh cricket that Shanto, Litton, Rana & co have ushered in a new era of Bangladesh cricket, one that is more about the collective than individual glory. Shanto has shown his hunger for runs, while taking instinctive decisions on and off the field. He has played a major role in bringing about their best moment of the last four years.