Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has described his team’s position in the top four of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings as a source of inspiration rather than pressure ahead of their home Test series against the West Indies, according to Cricinfo.
Bangladesh currently sit fourth in the WTC standings and have an outside chance of finishing in the top two. They need to win their remaining four home Tests to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive.
Bangladesh will host West Indies for a two-Test series, with the opening match beginning on Wednesday and the second Test scheduled to start on November 5. Ahead of the series opener, Shanto said Bangladesh’s position in the WTC top four was a source of inspiration rather than pressure, adding that the team would focus on following its established process and building on its performances in recent Test series rather than making any extra efforts.
Focusing on Established Process
“For me, this isn’t pressure; it is inspiring (to be in the top four),” Shanto said. “I find it inspiring that such scenarios are emerging in Test cricket. I wouldn’t call it pressure, because ever since we began our preparations or started discussing this series, our focus has been on how we have played Test cricket over the last few series and indeed over the past few years,” he said as quoted by Cricinfo.
“We don’t want to do anything extra; we simply want to stick to our process. I’m not asking for any extraordinary effort from anyone. While this is certainly a very important series, our goal is just to follow our established process. The same one that has been yielding results for us,” he added.
Building Confidence from Recent Performances
Bangladesh entered the Test series after a disappointing UAE tour, where they lost both matches in the ODI tri-series and drew the one-off Test against Afghanistan. Bangladesh have struggled for consistency, despite a 2-0 home series win over Pakistan. They subsequently suffered a defeat in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe before beating Australia in Darwin and losing the next match. Earlier this month, they drew their one-off Test against Afghanistan.
Shanto said the Darwin Test victory boosted the players’ confidence and strengthened their desire to improve in the format, adding that anticipation for upcoming Test matches had grown within the team.
“Naturally, winning the Darwin Test has boosted the players’ confidence and belief. That’s only to be expected. But even before that, the players already showed a strong desire to improve in this format. They genuinely want to play this format. That desire has only grown since the win. Furthermore, I have noticed a heightened level of anticipation among the players regarding when the next Test match will take place,” he said.