‘Needs of the team bigger than me’: Shanto on resuming Test captaincy

The newly reappointed Test skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto said that he put the needs of the team ahead of his own views regarding captaincy when he decided to return to the role ahead of the two-Test series against Ireland, set to begin in Sylhet on Tuesday.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had replaced Shanto with Mehidy Hasan Miraz as ODI captain in June ahead of the Sri Lanka tour. Soon after, Shanto stepped away from Test captaincy, saying that three captains policy of the board was not convenient.

Recently BCB cricket operations chairman held talks with Shanto but could not change his mind before others stepped in and managed to persuade him.

"The reason [for stepping down before] I have said before. But I felt that the cricket board communicated with me in a very nice way. Then, there were good and healthy conversations with everyone," Shanto said during a pre-match press conference ahead of the first Test against Ireland.

"At one point, I felt that Bangladesh cricket is much bigger than me as an individual. And the needs of the Bangladesh team are a greater concern than my own feelings.

"Yes, I did feel that way [about the three-captain system] at one point, and there were sufficient reasons behind it. But, as I just said, there was a very healthy conversation with the cricket board -- a good conversation about what problems could arise, how to resolve them, and how to prevent them from happening in the first place. We are very clear on those issues," he said.

He was optimistic that after that conversation with the board, problems faced in his first stint will be handled better.

"I didn't actually say much about any 'problems.' But as I said, there was a nice, healthy conversation with the Cricket Board. We discussed how we can collectively handle the problems that might arise, or are already happening, and how to prevent those problems from happening at all.

"We were all positive from our respective places on these issues. I hope that the team will move forward in a very positive direction in the future, and I believe that the board will fully support me in that regard," he said.