Sports Desk:

Bangladesh Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said on Thursday that his team is targeting a mid-table finish in the 2025–27 ICC World Test Championship cycle, aiming for incremental progress after what he called a “moderately successful” previous campaign.

In the 2023–25 cycle, Bangladesh won four of their 12 matches—all of them in away conditions. It was a step up from their performance in the 2021–23 edition, where they managed just a single win.

“This is a long-term dream. If I start thinking too far ahead right now, that would be unwise, I feel,” Shanto said.

“If we can progress gradually, step by step, that would be ideal.”

“In the last cycle, we had four wins. Before that, just one. So there has been some improvement. Our target this time is to find ways to win two or three more matches than before. If we keep taking small steps, who knows? Maybe one day Bangladesh will play in a WTC final. But for now, what’s important is to see how we can get better results over these two years,” he said.

Shanto believes improving results at home will be key, especially after the team’s underwhelming showings on familiar turf during the previous cycle.

“We played poorly at home last time. If we had done better, we might have had two or three more wins,” he said. “So the main focus now is to figure out how we can win at home. When we play in our conditions, we’ll plan more thoroughly, In Sha Allah. The away wins from the last cycle will give us confidence. If we can now get results away from home again, this cycle can be even better for us.”

Bangladesh finished seventh in the 2023–25 WTC table, and Shanto is hoping to break into the 4th–6th range this time.

“Last time, we finished seventh. So now the aim is to be around 4th, 5th, or 6th. That would be really good. I think our win percentage last cycle was around 45. If we can push that to 50, 55, or even 60 percent, as a captain I’d consider that a strong result.”

The 25-year-old also expressed satisfaction with the current squad makeup ahead of their upcoming Tests, defending some selection choices—particularly the lack of a backup opener.

“I’m very happy with the squad. As captain, I got all the players I asked for,” Shanto said.

“You asked about not having a backup opener. Once the games begin, you’ll understand the thinking behind it. The team combination will make things clearer. We’ve picked four seamers and four spinners, so there’s balance. Depending on the conditions, we can go with either setup. It’s a well-balanced squad, and I’m happy with it.”