Najmul Hossain Shanto’s impressive performance in the ODI format has further pushed his rise in the past month. The 24-year-old cricketer continued his excellent form, particularly against Ireland, which led to his nomination for the ICC’s Player of the Month for May. Scoring a century in the recent Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Test match 2023, Shanto continued his superb performance.

Though the player experienced some difficult times in his cricket career, recently he has become a consistent batter for the Bangladesh squad and helped the Tigers clinch win in several matches. Shanto acquired the Man of the Match award in the 2023 BAN vs AFG Test match.

Career Highlights of Najmul Hossain Shanto

Najmul Hossain Shanto has been playing tests since 2017, and so far, he has played 23 Test matches. In these 23 matches, he scored 1283 runs, with 163 being his highest score. With 4 centuries and 7 fifties, Shanto has been very consistent in recent test matches. Shanto’s best performance came against Sri Lanka in 2021. He did exceptionally well and scored 163 runs in just one inning, which is his best performance in test matches up to now.

Read more: Key Performers in BAN vs AFG Test 2023

Table: Najmul Hossain Shanto’s career as of June 20, 2023. 

Source: ESPN 

In addition to Test, recently Shanto has displayed an impressive performance in One Day Internationals (ODIs) too. Overall, in 24 matches, he has accumulated a total score of 615 runs, with a highest score of 117. His average stands at 26.73 with one century and three fifties, reflecting his consistent contributions to the team's batting line-up.

Najmul Hossain Shanto has been performing really well in the T20 International format. He has played 23 matches and scored 548 runs in total. His highest score in a single match is 71 runs against Zimbabwe, which is quite impressive. On average, he scores around 28.84 runs per match. Although he hasn't scored a century yet in this format, he has hit three half-centuries. This means he has played some really good innings and contributed a lot to his team's success.

Although Shanto started international cricket career in 2017, he became a regular member of Bangladesh cricket team in 2021. So, in just two years Shanto demonstrated his skills. With his tremendous performance he also proved that he has enough potential.

Read more: BCB Announces T20I Squad for Afghanistan Series

Shanto’s Most Recent Performance in BAN vs AFG Test 2023

Shanto played a fantastic cricket match for the Bangladesh team. He scored a century in both innings of the match. In the first innings, he made 146 runs, and in the second innings, he scored 124 runs. His brilliant performance practically ensured Bangladesh’s victory. Shanto became the second Bangladeshi player, after Mominul Haque, to score a century in both innings of a Test match.

Table: Shanto's score card in BAN vs AFG Test 2023

Read more: Pakistan fast bowler Afridi set to return to test cricket

It took Shanto 118 balls to reach his century in the first innings and 115 balls in the second. In the first innings, he hit 23 fours and 2 sixes to score 146 runs. In the second innings, he hit 15 fours. On the third day, Shanto started with 54 runs already scored. In the first innings, he partnered with Mahmudul Hasan, and together, they added 212 runs for the second wicket. In the second innings, Shanto partnered with Zakir Hasan, and they added 171 runs together. Shanto’s outstanding performance earned him the Man of the Match award for scoring a century in both innings of the match.

Greatest Quality of Najmul Hossain Shanto

According to Nazmul Abedin Fahim, cricket coach of BKSP, a Bangladeshi sports education institution, and mentor to several senior cricketers of Bangladesh, including Shakib, “Shanto has worked on some small technical issues, and that is the result he is getting now.” He thinks that Shanto’s greatest quality is that he is mentally strong. And many cricketers do not have this quality.

In the past, the way Shanto has been criticized is difficult to handle. However, Nazmul Abedin Fahim thinks Shanto handled it very well. Even after all this, he never broke down mentally. This is an indication that Shanto will gradually become an important figure in Bangladesh cricket.

Read more: BAN vs AFG Test: Bangladesh clinches historic victory with record margin of 546 runs

According to former England captain and commentator Nasser Hussain, Shanto is slowly becoming the star of Bangladesh. Shanto has become a regular player in the Bangladesh national team in all three formats, Test, ODI, and T20.

The time Shanto took to become permanent in the team, many cricketers would have felt helpless. But he was dedicated. Shanto was one of the best performers in the 2016 U-19 World Cup, and it was believed that he was going to be the future star of Bangladesh cricket.

It is true that Shanto did not get regular runs, but he was fully engaged in the match; his contribution in fielding was also noticeable. And now, we are seeing the result of his dedication.

Final Words

Najmul Hossain Shanto has overcome the difficult time in his career through his excellent performance in the recent matches. His excellent century in the ongoing BAN vs AFG Series 2023 shows that Shanto is a rising star for the Bangladesh cricket team.

Read more: BCB Announces Bangladesh ODI Squad for Afghanistan Series