Tamim Iqbal Receives Special Recognition For Bangladesh Captain’s Revival

Shanto credits Tamim for ODI form [Source: AFP]

In the first series, since Tamim Iqbal took over as the head of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, amid turbulent times, the team took on New Zealand in three ODIs and comprehensively got the better of the visitors at home.

The experienced campaigner, Najmul Hossain Shanto, who is also their Test captain, was central to the series win, scoring a fifty and a hundred, resulting in a 2-1 series win. These runs from Shanto came amidst a poor run of form in 2025, where he could only average 19.70 with the bat across 11 innings.

As he was able to find his best rhythm with the bat once again, he credited the former Bangladesh captain and BCB president, Tamim Iqbal, for returning to form.

Shanto shuts naysayers with a return in form

Having made his debut back in 2018 as a 20-year-old, Najmul Hossain Shanto has been Bangladesh's mainstay across formats. Having racked up close to 2000 ODI runs, he was going through a poor run of form for over a year, since scoring a 76 (119) against Afghanistan in November 2024.

In 11 matches across 2025, he only managed a solitary fifty against New Zealand in Rawalpindi before going on a 13-match run without a fifty. He also started the New Zealand series at home with a golden duck, raising doubts over his spot.

However, with series on the line, Shanto got an unbeaten 50 off 71 to comfortably chase 199 in the second ODI and backed it up with a 105 off 119 in the series decider.

Returning to his best ODI form, he shut the criticism by ending the series as the leading run-scorer with 155 runs in 3 innings, despite a duck to his name.

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Shanto lauds BCB president Tamim Iqbal for revival

Following his series-winning return in form, Shanto spoke to The Daily Star in an interview and revealed Tamim Iqbal's role in helping him get back to his best. As a left-hander himself, Iqbal specifically had one-on-one sessions with the star batter, resulting in positive outcomes on the ground.

"Before the BPL, I was working on a specific shot. I felt Tamim bhai would be the best person to consult because he played that shot very successfully throughout his career. I wanted to learn from his real-life experience and understand how he executed it," he told.

"I invited him, and he beautifully explained the whole process to me. He also spent two days with me indoors, generously giving his time. I benefited a lot from that, and I'm still working on it," he added.

Furthermore, despite scoring heavily at 4 in the series, he has expressed his desire to return to number 3; however, he left the decision to Tamim Iqbal's management and captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

BCB eyes to reach new heights under Tamim Iqbal

Since Tamim Iqbal took over as the president of the BCB, the Bangladesh team has managed to defeat the visiting New Zealand in a three-match ODI series comfortably by 2-1. Furthermore, they also lead the T20I series after the opening match in Chattogram.

Before the upcoming elections, they will face Pakistan in a two-match Test series, where they could replicate the results from the last tour of Pakistan by winning the series. The last time these two sides met in a Test was in Pakistan, and the series ended 2-0 for Bangladesh. Now, they will have the opportunity to prove to the world that the win wasn't a fluke.

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