Sujon defends Shanto amid all criticism
BCB
|| CF DESK ||
Shanto-Jaker resilience lifts Bangladesh to 112-Run lead after Day 3
4 hrs ago
Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud Sujon believes Najmul Hossain Shanto performed admirably in the T20 World Cup and does not deserve the harsh criticism he has been subjected to for some time.
Despite the media and fan criticism, Shanto ended up scoring the most runs for Bangladesh in the tournament. He scored 180 runs in five innings, including two fifty-run innings, for an average of 36.00.
One could argue that his strike rate (116.64) was inadequate. But it was his innings (77 off 55 balls) that helped Bangladesh post a respectable total and eventually win the match against Zimbabwe.
Shakib’s absence in Bangladesh cricket and BPL is a big loss, says Sujon
26 Dec 24
During the tournament, the southpaw hit 20 boundaries and two maximums. He also made two catches.
"The way Shanto played despite all the criticisms was out of the box. He had tremendous pressure on himself and it was really difficult (to come out of that and perform). He has done it. I think Shanto will become one of the finest cricketers of Bangladesh cricket," Sujon said.
Sujon also said the Bangladesh team kept on improving and the Tigers did well enough in the tournament. "There were improvements in each game. We had our chances to reach the semis, but somehow we couldn't. But I don't think we did badly at all," he added.
![Iftikhar Ahmed [L] and Rishad Hossain during a PSL game](https://cricfrenzy.com/public/storage/images/4-2025/cf_wLz9qfGA.jpg)
