Najmul Hossain Shanto takes blame for Sylhet test defeat

From his horrendous shot to get out at the start of the fourth day to the increased salaries the players now get to the market value of Bangladesh cricket, the questions were varied and came to Najmul Hossain Shanto like gunfire at the press conference following the Sylhet Test defeat to Zimbabwe. He was open about the shot he had taken and how it affected the game, but he couldn't answer the more difficult questions. Transitions could be brutal on captains, especially when you have lost to a lower-ranked, unfancied side. "It was my fault that we lost the match, that's the truth," Shanto said. "My wicket early in the morning [off the second ball of the day] ruined the whole match for us. We would have been in a better position if Shanto and Jaker Ali had added 50 or 60 more runs at that time. I don't want anyone else to be to blame. Since my termination came at a terrible time, I am taking on all of the responsibilities. I always consider taking advantage of scoring opportunities. Before playing my shots, maybe I should have taken more time. But I will play that shot [again], maybe the timing wasn't right [on this occasion]." When Shanto tried to pull a short outside delivery off of Blessing Muzarabani, he fell and sent a leading edge to deep fine leg. However, there were skilled batters remaining at 194 for 5. While Jaker continued his good touch in Tests, Shanto's deputy Mehidy Hasan Miraz was troubled by Zimbabwe's short-ball plan even as he tried to score quickly. He was one of Bangladesh's three wickets taken in the first half-hour. Bangladesh were guilty of not showing enough application, Shanto said, especially against Muzarabani, who finished with career-best match figures of 9 for 122.