Hathurusingha Explains Shanto’s Lack of Form

Despite the bowlers' brilliance allowing Bangladesh to progress through the group stage of the ICC T20 World Cup, a tough challenge awaits them in the Super 8. Bangladesh will face Australia, Afghanistan, and India in their quest to reach the semifinals. To win against these strong teams, Bangladesh's batters need to step up.

Najmul Hossain Shanto, the captain of Bangladesh in all three formats, has led the team to victories in the three group matches of the current T20 World Cup. Credit goes to Shanto for leading the team to the Super 8 stage. However, he has been a complete failure with the bat, scoring only 26 runs in 4 World Cup matches. Despite multiple changes in his batting position, Shanto’s runs have not materialized.

Naturally, Shanto's lack of form came up during a discussion with Bangladesh's head coach Chandika Hathurusingha in a media talk before the match against Australia. Hathurusingha attributes Shanto’s poor performance to the conditions. He explained,

"It's not just Shanto; if you look, the top order of most teams is struggling in this tournament because the wicket is challenging for the new ball. Each team is going in without knowing what a good score is. The top 2-3 batters are figuring out the conditions by playing. When Shanto scores, it's match-winning. He’s a terrific player and a very important batter. I'm sure if the conditions are favorable, he will perform well in the upcoming matches."

Hathurusingha hopes not only the top-order but also the other batters will find form against Australia. He added, "As always, we want our top 7 batters to perform. But here, the wicket is challenging for everyone, not just us. As a result, our bowlers are keeping us in the game. We need to score one more run than the opposition or defend what we put up. We are very confident because our bowling is covering a lot. If the conditions are different and our bowlers give away runs, hopefully, our batters can chase them down."

Bangladesh will face Australia at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Friday. The match will start at 6:30 AM Bangladesh time.