DHAKA, Sept 25, 2023 (BSS)-Najmul Hossain Shanto, who was chosen as the captain for the third ODI against New Zealand revealed that he would follow the leadership mantra of Shakib Al Hasan in a bid to prepare himself to lead the national team in future.

Regular captain Shakib was rested from the three-match series while Liton Das who led the side in the first two matches, was allowed to rest for the third match. Shanto has already been touted as future captain and so he was given the responsibility to lead the side in a match which turned out to be a 'do or die' game for Bangladesh to avoid their first series defeat at the hands of Kiwis since 2008.

The Black Caps are up 1-0 in the series following their 86-run victory in the second game. The first match was washed out due to heavy rain.

Shanto, visibly excited by the captaincy role, said he would try to thrive, following the footstep of Shakib, who had the rare quality of staying cool under huge pressure.

"Shakib bhai has always been my favourite cricketer," Shanto said.

"As a captain we have seen MS Dhoni and everyone likes him a lot. In my case, I like the way Shakib bhai leads the team and deals with every player. I had the opportunity to play with him in the BPL and learnt a lot of things from him. The experience I have and what I have learnt from my senior brothers I will try to use those in the game," he added.

Shanto has been the most successful batter for Bangladesh in all three formats of cricket. He established him as the integral part of the team after facing huge ups and downs since his debut in 2017.
 
For his bad patch with the willow, he was trolled by the toxic fans, who even dragged his family to the matter but he avoided those off the field issues shrewdly, which is the testament of his strong mentality.
The BCB appointed Shanto as their 16th ODI captain. Shanto savoured the opportunity, saying that he is keen to show his credential.

"In future if there is a possibility to lead the side I will surely give it a try and to be honest this is a dream for every cricketer to lead his country," Shanto said.

"The captaincy came to me this time and if there is an opportunity in future will try to fulfill the responsibility to the best of my ability," he added.