Shanto dedicates historic Test win to martyrs of anti-discrimination movement
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain dedicated the historic Test win against Pakistan to the ones who were martyred in the anti-quota student movement which eventually turned into an uprising and ousted the fascist Awami League regime led by Sheikh Hasina.
The left-handed batter made the announcement after the match in the post-match presentation in Bangla: “I dedicate this victory to those who lost their lives in the recent anti-discrimination student movement.”
Shanto revealed that he spoke with his wife after the fourth day’s play and she was talking about Bangladesh winning the match, even though it looked very unlikely at that point.
“It’s very special, last night I spoke with my wife. She said if we win, it will be very good and luckily, we won today,” he said.
The 26-year-old spoke about the belief they had of winning the match and the hard work they put in the training camp
“It’s very massive, we had never won here, but we believed before the start of the series and we did really well. Especially in the last 10-15 days, we have worked really hard,” Shanto explained.
The all-format captain of Bangladesh wanted to give credit to all the bowlers for the way they bowled, especially pacer Nahid Rana and the spinners Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan while also giving the opening batters Shadman Islam and Zakir Hossain due praise.
“Credit goes to all the bowlers, Nahid bowled really well, and Shakib was also good. Playing after a long time it’s difficult for an opener but the way he (Shadman) and Zakir batted, it really helped our team. Hopefully, they continue their form,” he expressed.
Shanto reserved special praise for Mushfiqur Rahim, who was the ‘Player of the Match’ for his innings of 191, the highest individual score among all batters in the Test.
“Mushfiqur for the last 15-17 years has done really well and he is not tiring, he is playing with the same intensity. He played really well in these hot conditions. I’m not only giving credit to him but all the fifteen members of our squad,” Shanto concluded.
