11 November - Pune - Bangladesh Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto post-match press conference
[Reporter:]
The World Cup campaign is going to be ended or it has been ended for you. I have two questions particularly. First, in the two matches in a row, our batting order was pretty much the same as we saw before the World Cup. You won the match against Sri Lanka, you won it convincingly well and also you scored 300+ runs in this match. So, how much has Bangladesh suffered from the instability of the batting order? This is my first question.
[Najmul Hossain Shanto:]
Let me answer this one first. [Yes, please.]
I think that at first, there was no complaint from the batsman about the batting order. Everyone was happy with the way or the position they were batting. But what I want to say along with this is that if we had stayed in the same place, maybe we could have achieved something different. But I don't think we would have been successful if we had done that. That's not right. If we stayed the same, we would have more chances of success. So, I don't think it's worth talking about it now further.
[Reporter:]
The second question is, you scored 300+ in the World Cup for the first time. But, it did not seem that Bangladesh could win the match because of a three-over span. What went wrong?
[Najmul Hossain Shanto:]
We started to win the match. We all had the mentality that we would win the game and we should have won from here the way we started. But I think we had two run-outs in the batting and we didn't bowl well in the middle overs. So, as a team, we couldn't play well in some important moments.
[Reporter:]
Maybe you are going back home tonight after finishing the World Cup. There was a batting wicket in today's last match and it seemed that it's possible to make 350 for Bangladesh on this wicket or even more. It didn't seem impossible in a position where you were. Even then, you scored 306 finally and Australia won the match convincingly. Are you going back with this realization that in the current nature of one-day cricket, if there is a batting-friendly wicket, the good teams easily make 350-400 runs? Are you going back from this World Cup with this realization that you are far behind with the current nature of one-day cricket?
[Najmul Hossain Shanto:]
See, we have scored 300+ today against such bowling. What I said earlier is that if we didn't have two run-outs or if we had another big partnership in the middle, we would have made 350 from there. So, the confidence is already there in the batsmen. I think we have made 300 against such quality bowling. But it's also true that the more we play on good wickets, we need to have that practice/experience. We know how to make 260. So, if we can create the practice/experience of making 300, then you will see that we can make 300 or 350 regularly.
[Reporter:]
My question is about your personal experience of the World Cup. You came here as one of our consistent batsmen. You played well in the first match, then you went through a very bad patch. You came back again. And if is seen that you do captaincy when you play in Pune [smile]. So, I have two questions. What is your personal experience of the first World Cup? And these two big matches against India and Australia. You played as a captain in both of them. What is your experience? And Are you ready to take the mantle?
[Najmul Hossain Shanto:]
I have nothing to say further about my captaincy in Pune but I have learned a lot since it was my first World Cup. I played one-day cricket against such big teams. I played in such an environment. This experience will help me. I didn't play well at all in the 5-6 middle matches in the batting. What were our mistakes or how the big batsmen from other teams were scoring runs in the top order? I have a lot of experience. So, how to improve from here will be the main focus in the coming days if the opportunity comes. And what you said about captaincy is that I couldn't win both matches. But there was a lot to learn. There was pressure from the two big teams. I think I've learned a lot and this will help me in the future.
[Reporter:]
[Are you ready for the captaincy?]
[Najmul Hossain Shanto:]
I've been doing it for a while now and personally, I think I'm ready. And if I get the opportunity, definitely, I'm ready to do it perfectly.
[Reporter:]
You said you are used to playing with a 260-run wicket. Now how to play with a 360-run wicket is a place you lack. After the World Cup, you have that realization. What will you say to the board? How will you make the preparation? What would be your expectation? And will you discuss that after going from this World Cup that you should come to such a tournament after playing in those kinds of wickets?
[Najmul Hossain Shanto:]
No, definitely. We have seen the situation of the team. As bad as we batted, we are not such a bad team, still I think.
But we were okay in terms of preparation, we didn't get the outcome/result. But we hope that when we play in the white ball format, whether it's one-day or T20, every wicket should be good and a sporting wicket. In that case, I think the bowlers will be able to improve how to defend 300 runs on a good wicket. A good wicket doesn't mean that you will make 350 runs every match. Sometimes you have to defend 300. I think both batting and bowling will improve. So, I think the cricket board has thought about it and I hope they will provide us with similar wickets.
****[Reporter:]
You captained twice in Pune, how have you felt the experience of support in the stadium, and particularly in this match, and overall, for the campaign for the World Cup?
[Najmul Hossain Shanto:]
As a captain, experience wasn't that good. We lost two matches. But I learned a lot of things. It helps in the future, I believe. And overall, the World Cup, we didn't play as a team good cricket here. We have to improve our batting, bowling, both. So, we have to think what went wrong. So, when we're going back to home, we work it out.
[Reporter:]
No, no. How is the support for the team you got?
[Najmul Hossain Shanto:]
So, everyone supported me. I think all the senior players supported me; all Bangladeshi fans supported me during those two matches. And I enjoy a lot. Even today I saw a few of Indian fans as well, they support Bangladesh team. So, I enjoy a lot.
[Reporter:]
When you came to the press conference earlier as a captain, you said that Liton Kumar Das's dismissal was crucial against India. Today Liton Kumar Das had a good start. The first 10 batsmen in this World Cup, 5 of the openers scored a century. Do you think Liton Kumar Das has missed a lot of opportunities in this World Cup despite getting stars?
[Najmul Hossain Shanto:]
Personally, I don't like to talk about any player individually. I think as a team, we didn't do well. We had more opportunities for top-order batsmen. In this situation, if the score was big from the top, I think the team would have gone to a better position. So, I hope that the scores will be big in the future. But individually, I don't worry about it.
[Reporter:]
I mean, he got such a start, I mean, it's a different story when someone got out after scoring 2-3 runs but when someone has got a start of 30, 40, or 50 runs, don't you think that if you had a century on the top, you could make the total bigger?
[Najmul Hossain Shanto:]
Yes, of course. I think [Tanzid Hasan] Tamim has got a start in a few matches, Liton also got it. I have also got it in a few matches like today. In all the matches we got a start, but we couldn't make it big. So, the target will be how we can make these bigger in the future. Actually, we say this repeatedly but I think it's important to do this. It's important to practice and play on such wickets. I hope this experience will be useful for us in the future.
[Reporter:]
Shanto, your answer to the batting order is a bit diplomatic. So, if you could give us an explanation. The thing is, we have batted in a few series (matches) with specific batting orders before the World Cup. You have batted in number 3, Tawhid Hridoy in number 4, Mushfiqur [Rahim] at 6. But in this World Cup, we have seen that in almost every match you have experimented. You have batted in 4, at number 3 once, came back to 4, and have gone to 3 again. Mahmudullah Riyad in 6, 7. So, the thing is, in a World Cup-like tournament, is it ideal to do an experiment like this? The reason I'm asking you this is that you're the vice-captain, you're also doing captaincy for the team now, you're one of the team's main think tanks. So, is this ideal? And your first answer was that all batsmen are happy with this. So, will you do such experiments like this in the future in the big tournaments?
[Najmul Hossain Shanto:]
It would be good if we didn't do it, honestly. It would be good if we don't do it but sometimes you have to do it against a few teams, depending on the strength of the team. But I think we should do as little as possible. Even in this World Cup, we did this a lot. There was a good thinking behind this, honestly. We did it according to the strength of the opponent team. But it'd be good if we could do as little as possible. It would have been better if we hadn't done it.