The cricket scene is jubilant following Bangladesh’s win in the first Test of the two-match series against New Zealand.Many are seeing the dawn of a new era in Bangladeshi cricket.
Chandika Hathurusingha, the head coach of Bangladesh, however, prefers to observe the team's continued progress for now rather than labeling it “beginning of a new era.”
Bangladesh's victory in Sylhet was unexpected, especially considering the absence of star performers Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, and Litton Das from the playing XI. In contrast, New Zealand came into this series with nearly all of their formidable players and a history of strong performances against Bangladesh, both abroad and at home.
Despite these challenges, Bangladesh shone under the leadership of Najmul Hossain Shanto, who stepped into Shakib’s shoes as the regular captain. Chandika was impressed by Shanto's captaincy and leadership from the front.
“There are differences between captaincy and leadership,” Chandika said. “He did well as a captain. He was always one step ahead in the match, positioning fielders with great thinking, sometimes in unorthodox ways.”
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Chandika believes that Najmul has a promising future as a captain but deferred the decision of appointing him as captain for an extended period to the board.
“The board will make the final decision on a long-term captain,” Chandika added. “But I see him as a strong contender.”
While Chandika refrains from hailing the win in Sylhet as the dawn of a new era, he is hopeful for another victory in the second match in Dhaka, starting on Wednesday. This would be a significant start for the Tigers in the new cycle of the ICC World Test Championship.
“It’s not possible to change everything overnight,” he said. “We have been doing the right things needed to create a good cricketing culture. If we maintain the right process, the results will take care of themselves.”
Read: Bangladesh's triumph under Najmul: A new chapter in the making
He added that they will stick to the plan they had before starting this series, that is winning the series.
While Bangladesh is preparing for another match to display their Test prowess, Nayeem Hasan might have to be sidelined as the right-arm spinner suffered a blow on his right index finger during a practice session on Tuesday.
New Zealand pacer Tim Southee is expecting another battle of spinners in the Dhaka Test.
“I think you come to this part of the world, you expect the spinners to play a big role. And we saw that in the first Test match and we are expecting similar in the second match,” Southee said.