Najmul says he's 'ready' for Bangladesh captaincy
Najmul Hossain Shanto
|| AFP ||
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Najmul Hossain Shanto said he felt "ready" for the Bangladesh captaincy after standing-in as skipper for the injured Shakib Al Hasan during the World Cup.
The 25-year-old led the Tigers for the second time at the tournament as they bowed out with an eight-wicket defeat by already-qualified semi-finalists Australia in Pune on Saturday.
Najmul was in charge after veteran all-rounder Shakib suffered a broken finger while batting in a win over Sri Lanka.
This was Shakib's fifth World Cup and the Bangladesh star will be 40 by the time of the 2027 edition in southern Africa.
Najmul, speaking about captaincy, told a post-match press conference: "I've been doing it for a while now and personally, I think I'm ready (to lead Bangladesh). And if I get the opportunity, definitely, I'm ready."
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He added: "I have learned a lot since it was my first World Cup...Playing in such an environment, this experience will help me."
Bangladesh's 306-8 against Australia was their highest total of the tournament, yet they still suffered a seventh defeat in nine matches as Mitchell Marsh led the five-time champions to victory with an unbeaten 177.
But things might have been different for Bangladesh had Najmul (45) and Mahmudullah (32) not both been run out by Marnus Labuschagne when well set.
"We had two run-outs in the batting and we didn't bowl well in the middle overs," said Najmul. "So as a team, we couldn't play well in some important moments.
"But we have scored 300 plus today against such (good) bowling. If we didn't have two run-outs or had another big partnership in the middle, we would have made 350 from there."
Najmul added: "Overall, we didn't play good cricket as a team in the World Cup.
"We have to improve our batting and bowling. We have to think what went wrong, and, when we're back home, work it out."
