Domingo unfazed by Shanto's inconsistent form

Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo backed Najmul Hossain Shanto once again, saying that the top order batter has the ability to be the next big thing of the country.

Shanto came into the team as the replacement opener for the injured Tamim Iqbal. But he was dismissed for a golden duck, caught at slip off Deepak Chahar.

"I like the left-right opening combination," Domingo said. "He [Shanto] seems to be finding his way in white-ball cricket. He got two fifties in the T20 World Cup."

"Shanto needs to perform more consistently, but he has also played on some tricky surfaces. You have to be patient with some players. 14 ODIs is not that many games. He is playing against high quality teams in tough conditions."

In 14 ODIs, Shanto has been able to cross the 20-run mark six times. He got out eight times before going into double figures. He also had two ducks in the last two matches including the first ODI against India.

Shanto has been always in discussion in Bangladesh cricket, but that is because of run drought.

Domingo drew the example of South African great Jaques Kallis to defend Shanto, saying that Kallis also had had a poor start to his career like Shanto but he went on to become a big star of the world.

"And I have seen many great players whose first 20-25 matches, 20 Test match records were not good," said Domingo. "Let's talk about Jacques Kallis. His average in the first 12 Tests seems to have been 12 [actually 25]."

Shanto averages 26.08 in 19 Test matches, 13.50 in 14 ODIs and 24 in 17 T20Is. His averages had indicated he is yet to be consistent in any format of cricket. But Domingo urged everyone to have patience on Shanto.

"He had to play on some tough wickets in the West Indies," said Domingo. "He played some good innings there. And you have to be patient with some cricketers. 12 ODI matches in difficult conditions is not much. So we have to be patient. He should be given a chance to find the form."