Mashrafe backs 'mentally tough' Shanto to serve Bangladesh for a long time

Najmul Hossain Shanto was earmarked to be a star since his early days but is yet to translate his potential in international cricket. There have been odd great knocks but the consistency is something that's missing. The southpaw has received a lot of social media hate which is sometimes unwarranted. 

Shanto is the third-highest run-getter at the BPL so far with 281 runs in seven innings (although the strike-rate has been on the lower side). His team Sylhet Strikers are sitting at the top of the points table with just one loss in seven games. 

Shanto was Sylhet's hero in the last match with 89* off 66 which was just enough to beat Shakib Al Hasan's Fortune Barishal. After the match, Shanto said that he doesn't give importance to the outside noise but the excessive hate sometimes affects his family members. 

His captain at the BPL Mashrafe Mortaza drew on the example of Litton Das while backing Shanto ahead of the start of the Sylhet phase of the tournament. 

"Today everyone is praising Litton. But if you look at his beginning, things [on the social media] were worse for him. When I was the captain, I knew Litton had it in him to make it big. In Shanto's case, the same thing [social media trolling] is happening."

"At the T20 World Cup, Shanto stood tall against all odds and scored about 200 [180] runs. Then he struggled a bit and now is back in runs. He's going through a bit now."

Mashrafe said Shanto will serve Bangladesh for a long time because he doesn't pay heed to what people are talking about him on social media. 

"It's all about battling in international cricket. It's important to be mentally tough. I've noticed that Shanto doesn't take the hate to heart like Litton. I think he will serve Bangladesh for a long time," said Mashrafe.