Yunus, press celebrate BD series victory over Pakistan

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s new leader led the celebrations after a first-ever Test series win over Pakistan, with commentators calling it a victory to savour a month after unrest ousted the autocratic former premier.

“Heartiest congratulations on behalf of the government and myself,” 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhummad Yunus told captain Najmul Hossain Shanto in a phone call after the win on Tuesday.

“The whole nation is proud of you,” he added, according to a statement from the office of Yunus, after the 2-0 clean sweep over Pakistan was sealed with a tense six-wicket victory in Rawalpindi.

Yunus took over after Sheikh Hasina fled to India as protesters marched on her palace in Dhaka to end 15 years of iron-fisted rule. The Dhaka Tribune splashed across its front page a photograph of the grinning team above a signboard with the simple message: “Winners”.

“The Tigers are burning bright,” the newspaper commented, praising an “emphatic victory.” “There is genuine hope that, much as Bangladesh is experiencing a new beginning after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, this could be the dawn of a new era for Bangladesh cricket”, it added.

“This series win is emblematic of broader transformation within Bangladesh,” it read, saying the victory embodied the “resilience, determination, and the spirit of a nation that wants to achieve more than what was expected of it”.

It was Shakib al Hasan, 37, who lost his job as a lawmaker for Hasina’s Awami League party after the student-led revolution, who hit the winning runs on Tuesday to spark jubilation. “We can’t express feelings with words, we are really happy,” said captain Najmul.

“I think before we came here we were looking to win, and the way everyone did their job made me really happy.” Dhaka’s Daily Star newspaper called it a “surreal series victory” and “watershed moment.”

“A triumph spurred by belief,” the Star’s headline read. “Inside two weeks, Bangladesh dragged themselves out of seemingly unwinnable positions, not once but twice, in foreign conditions against an opponent whom they had lost to 12 times out of 13 previous encounters in Tests,” it added.

Bangladesh next travel to India for A two-match Test series beginning on September 18. Bangladesh have never won a Test against India in 13 attempts with Najmul calling it a “challenging series.” But Bangladesh had similarly never beaten Pakistan in 14 matches before their first Test win by 10 wickets, which was also in Rawalpindi. Political tensions between India and Bangladesh are running high, with 76-year-old Hasina being hosted by old ally New Delhi.