Shakib Al Hasan predicts bright future for Bangladesh

Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh's captain, has backed the team to soar into the top five of international cricket's best. Bangladesh currently occupy the No. 9 spot in the ICC's rankings for Tests and one-day internationals but after their recent success Shakib predicted them to shake up the world order.

"One day, no one will consider Bangladesh the underdogs," Shakib told AFP. "There will be no automatic predictions that we will end up losing. In the next five years I want to see Bangladesh ranked third to fifth in the world."

Bangladesh, who won Test status in 2000, have won just three of their 61 Tests so far, losing 52 and drawing six. They have had more success in one-day cricket: they have won 55 of their 211 games, including a place in the second round of the 2007 World Cup.

Shakib, 22, was appointed Bangladesh captain after Mashrafe Mortaza picked up an injury in the Caribbean this summer and lead the side to their first Test series win over West Indies and a 3-0 sweep in the one-dayers. Apart from performing well as a captain, Shakib was Bangladesh's most successful allrounder on that tour. He was the leading wicket-taker in the Tests, with 13 at 18.76 and scored 159 runs, and scored a century in the ODIs.

Shakib then oversaw a 4-1 ODI series win over Zimbabwe at home - Bangladesh's second such success after a 4-1 success in Zimbabwe in August - and contributed with bat and ball. "The key to being a good captain is to be decisive and also focus on your own game," he said. "It's difficult for a captain to be confident if he's not performing."

Shakib also credited the Bangladesh's recent success to the coach Jamie Siddons, who has been working with the team for two years. "The most important characteristic in him is his positive attitude towards everything," he said. "Jamie is very good at extracting the best in a player. In my case, my batting has improved so much because of him."

Bangladesh's next scheduled series is a tour of New Zealand in February 2010.