Bangladesh's experienced left-arm spinner Taijul Islam is ready to take over the Test captaincy if required. He was asked about leading the Test team after it was reported that the current skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto is not ready to continue after the ongoing series against South Africa at home.
The second and final Test between Bangladesh and South Africa is set to get underway on October 29 (Tuesday). The visitors are leading 1-0 after winning the opening Test by seven wickets. For the unversed, Shanto had expressed his desire to step down as the captain after the series. "Yes, he informed us that he is not ready to lead the side after the South Africa series," the BCB official had said while speaking to Cricbuzz.
"Let's see what happens (as far as leading Bangladesh is concerned) because I am still waiting to hear it from the president (BCB)," Shanto had said on the matter. When asked about the same, Taijul, the veteran who has been playing international cricket for a decade now, refuted hearing any such thing regarding Shanto but cleared that he will be ready to take over if needed.
"I haven't heard anything on this matter (regarding Najmul quitting from captaincy) It's not part of our role, I'm not fully informed on this. Having played for 10 years, I'm fully prepared (for captaincy)," Taijul said while speaking to the reporter on the eve of the second Test against South Africa.
Bangladesh are on the verge of second consecutive series loss after the hammering they received on the India tour recently. He felt that the batters would have to take more responsibility if they were to level the series. "Our goal remains the same: we'll play to win. As for the match conditions, we'll understand them once the game unfolds. But the focus will be on playing as a team - whether it's batting, bowling, or fielding. We'll do our best to win.
"Every match is an opportunity. From that perspective, I think this is another chance for the batters. We haven't performed on the level as expected as a team, although some have had individual performances in different matches. If we can build two or three partnerships in a game, and one or two players score a century, our target will be much bigger and everyone's working hard and is fully committed," Taijul added.
