Shanto after Sylhet Test draw: The plan was right, but we failed in execution

The Sylhet Test has ended in a draw, and West Indies have won the series. After losing the first Test, Bangladesh could not save the series by drawing the second. After the series, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said the plan was right, but it was not properly executed on the field.

Shanto believes that if Nahid Rana had been in the team, there would have been a chance to vary the bowling plan. Rana has been out of the field with injury for several series. The Bangladesh captain said his absence played a role in building a spin-dependent bowling attack.

Shanto said, 'We made this combination thinking about where the opponent's strength lies and where their weakness lies. You have said a very good thing—if Rana had been there, perhaps sometimes we could have gone with a different plan. With the old ball, different plans can often be made. If Rana had been there, we would have had more options in hand.'

Bangladesh played both Tests against West Indies with two pacers and three spinners. The captain said the decision was taken considering the opponent's strengths and weaknesses.

Bangladesh had played with three pacers against Pakistan at home and in Darwin. The two-pacer plan against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi also did not bring victory. Against West Indies, two pacers were played alongside three spinners in both Tests.

The captain does not think the bowling combination decision was wrong. In his view, the shortcoming was greater in execution than in planning. The Caribbean spinners dominated in both Tests, and Bangladesh's spinners were nowhere near them.

Shanto said, 'These things are planned long in advance—what kind of conditions we will play in, what kind of wicket we want at home. We must take that advantage. I think we should have got at least close to those conditions, even if not fully. Unfortunately, we got somewhat less than that. But I do not want to give it as an excuse. I think the plan we made was right. But we made many mistakes in execution.'

Bangladesh had expected a spin-friendly wicket at home. Shanto admitted that the expected conditions were not fully received in Dhaka and Sylhet. Especially in Sylhet, he had hoped the spin would start having an effect much earlier.

Shanto said, 'Our plan was to play on a spin wicket. If you look at both matches, we played with three spinners and two pacers. I think we did not lose the first match because of the conditions. We could not do well in batting, bowling and fielding—all three departments. We did not fully get the conditions we wanted or expected in Sylhet. In that respect, we were a bit behind in terms of planning.'

Even on the fourth and fifth days of the Sylhet Test, the wicket was quite good for batting. Yet the hosts had expected the spinners to get help from the wicket from the very start of the match.

Shanto said, 'This was not the kind of wicket we wanted. If it had been so, perhaps we could have played one extra pacer. The thinking was that the spin would start a bit earlier. Unfortunately, that did not happen. If we want to create such conditions again in the future, we will have to discuss much better how to bring the conditions in our favour and plan properly.'

The series was important for Bangladesh. The team had taken the field aiming to stay ahead in the race for the World Test Championship final. But Bangladesh could not play cricket as expected.

Shanto said, 'It is very important to accept that we did not play good cricket. I think we could not play even 50 percent of the cricket we were playing in this format. If the planning and execution had been good, the result might have been different.'

Although the spinners have done poorly recently, Shanto reminded everyone of the spinners' long-standing contribution behind Bangladesh's success in Test cricket.

He said, 'The pacers have been doing well in recent times, especially over the last year and a half. But the Bangladesh team has always won matches through the spinners, especially at home or even away. We should not lose faith in the spinners so quickly. Two or three series can go badly. It is important to stand by them. I believe they will come back well.'

Towhid Hridoy made history with the bat in the Sylhet Test. After playing an innings of 242 runs in the first innings, he also scored a fifty in the second innings. Hridoy became the first Bangladeshi batter to score a double century and a fifty in the same Test. But as a team, the series ended in disappointment—after the drawn Sylhet Test, the series went to West Indies.