'We Can Do Special Things This Time': Bangladesh Captain Shanto Warns Pakistan Ahead Of 1st Test

Bangladesh has suffered 12 defeats in 13 Tests played against Pakistan so far, but the past record doesn’t matter much to its current captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, who has fired a massive warning to the Shan Masood-led side ahead of the start of a two-match Test series between Pakistan and Bangladesh. According to Shanto, Bangladesh can do special things this time during the Test series against Pakistan, which starts on Wednesday (August 21) in Rawalpindi.

Speaking to reporters on the eve of the first Test at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Shanto said, “No pressure. It’s a record, and a record can be changed.”

“It’s not going to be easy, but as I said, we have a balanced side. We believe we can do some special things this time. Players are really excited to play here,” he added.

Shanto feels that even though his side failed to perform well against Sri Lanka in front of home fans earlier this year, the upcoming series is a good opportunity, and he hopes his teammate will play good cricket.

“I feel we had a good series against New Zealand, but we didn’t play well against Sri Lanka. We have a good opportunity this time against Pakistan, and I hope we’ll play good cricket here,” he said.

“We don’t want to do anything different (as a batting unit), as we all know our batting hasn’t been well in the recent past. But we’ve had good preparation this time. Players tried to prepare as well as they could. Everyone has the belief that our batting unit will do well this time.”

“Besides, bowling is equally important to win a Test. I think we have a good chance as a team this time. In the last couple of years, we have a good pace bowling unit. We have three-four quality spinners as well. So we (have) covered everything,” he added.

Pakistan has already announced its playing XI for the series opener against Bangladesh. The hosts have picked a four-man pace attack, which will be led by Shaheen Shah Afridi. It will be interesting to see Bangladesh’s playing XI as they are dealing with injury-related issues as well in the camp.