We are planning to win both Tests against New Zealand: Shanto

Despite records saying differently, stand-in Bangladesh Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is confident of winning the Test series against New Zealand at home.

Bangladesh have won only one in 17 Test matches against the Kiwis so far. Bangladesh lost 13 of the remaining 16 matches, and three matches were drawn. Bangladesh will not have regular captain Shakib Al Hasan against the Black Caps as he is injured. Experienced openers Tamim Iqbal and Litton Das are not in the team either due to various reasons. Two frontline pacers Taskin Ahmed and Ebadat Hossain are also out due to injury. However, Shanto believes that they have the ability to win the series. The reasons for his confidence are the home conditions and spin bowling strength.

The first Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand will start Tuesday at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. Ahead of the match, Shanto on Monday said, considering the bowling attack, Bangladesh is a team that can beat any opponent at home. In his words, "With the bowling attack we have, we are a team that can win at home. Winning matches at home is of utmost importance to us, against any team. After that, we have to see how we can compete with other teams outside the country."

Shanto, who is leading in this series, believes that it is possible to win both matches if they proceed according to plan. "New Zealand are a very good team. A very challenging and strong team in Tests. As we are playing on home soil, we definitely are a better team if we think of our spinners or batting strength. It is possible to defeat this group if we execute our plans properly. We are planning to win both matches. We believe we can win, we will play to win. Everyone has that belief," Shanto said at the pre-match press conference on Monday. 

Although there are not many experienced players in the Test team, Shanto is reluctant to call the team completely new. Hoping to compete by relying on the cricketers in the team, he said, "I won't say we are a completely new team, but the experience is a bit less than it could have been. There will be a time. Those who have played so far, Shakib bhai, Tamim bhai, (Mahmudullah) Riyad bhai… Mushfiqur (Rahim) bhai is still playing. At one time they will not play. This is an opportunity for us who are new and young. Everyone should take this challenge and everyone is ready to take this challenge."

"Zakir (Hasan), (Mahmudul Hasan) Joy, Sadman (Islam), Shourob (Mominul Haque) bhai are in the top order, along with me. I played a match in the National Cricket League (NCL) while they played in all of their NCL matches as they were not in the World Cup. I think they prepared very well, everyone was pretty much among the runs. We definitely had a bad time in the World Cup, but that was the ODI format, now this is tests. I was in good nick against Afghanistan in the last Test. I will play this match with that confidence," He added.

Even though it is a home ground, Sylhet is not a regular Test venue for Bangladesh. The last Test match held on this ground was way back in 2018 and this has so far been the only Test match played here. Bangladesh lost that match against Zimbabwe. However, NCL and BCL matches are held regularly here and Shanto feels, "We mostly played first-class matches in Sylhet. There has been a very long discussion about the wicket. I tried to understand what the wicket was like. Not to mention taking home-field advantage. Every team has an advantage when they play at home. We will try to take it. When the match starts tomorrow, it will be more clear how the wicket is behaving. But we have some ideas. It is not right to say what kind of wicket it will be."