Taijul Islam 'fully prepared' to take up Bangladesh's Test captaincy

Bangladesh captain Najmul Shanto has decided to step down as Bangladesh's Test captain after the second match against South Africa. His resignation is yet to be accepted. As per reports, BCB President Faruque Ahmed is abroad and the decision  will be taken after he returns. Notably, Shanto did not arrive at the press conference ahead of the South Africa game.

It is understood that the team management did not want Shanto to speak about the decision to step down. Meanwhile, in his place, Taijul Islam was sent to the presser and interestingly, the spinner threw his hat in the ring for captaincy, stated that he is ready to take over in case Shanto decides to step down.

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“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 was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

We haven't performed on the level as expected as a team: Taijul

After winning the series in Pakistan, Bangladesh suffered back-to-back defeats in red-ball cricket—two against India in an away series and then the first Test against South Africa at home. Taijul is not bothered by the past and wants the team to play better cricket in the second Test in Chattogram. He noted that every game is an opportunity, and if the batters manage to build partnerships, they can get the job done.

“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 said.