‘There's no option to give excuses’

|| CF DESK ||

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto expressed his disappointment after their series defeat against Sri Lanka to their inability to showcase their full batting ability.

Despite their efforts, the hosts fell short in both matches, succumbing to defeats by significant margins—328 runs in the first Test and 192 runs in the second.

Their batting woes were evident throughout the series, as they struggled to surpass the 200-run mark in four out of the four innings played. The only silver lining came in the final Test, where they managed to muster a respectable 318 runs in pursuit of a daunting 511-run target.

"We didn't bat well throughout the series. There's no option to give excuses. We can say lots of things but we didn't bat well as a team in the four innings. But we aren't as poor a batting unit as we displayed in these two Tests. We are more capable. We have room for improvement both technically and mentally." Shanto said after the final Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram today.

In addition to their batting struggles, Bangladesh's performance in the slip cordon and overall fielding left much to be desired. The slip catching, a critical aspect of Test cricket, proved to be subpar throughout both matches.

Despite several opportunities, Bangladesh faltered in holding onto crucial catches, ultimately impacting the outcome of the games. These missed chances proved costly, influencing the trajectory of the matches significantly.

"Everyone takes their catches in practice. They work hard on their fielding. There's no answer to why we dropped the catches. We couldn't take the catches. Everyone though was well prepared as a fielding unit," a dejected Shanto said about their fielding.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had recently increased the Test match fee to Tk. 8 lakh from Tk. 6 lakh. But still the Test match performance was below par and sometimes was the resemblance of Bangladesh's early 2000 Test struggle.

"I don't want to use the words "guilty conscience". After the team does badly, the players feel bad. They always want to improve. They communicate with each other. We don't think about Test match fees. We are looking for improvement even when we are doing well. Everyone feels bad when we lose, but we prepare very well. We practice very hard," Shanto said.