Mominul Haque, a batter for Bangladesh, said on Friday that Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is in the best shape of his life and that his Test century against Pakistan on the first day of the first Test was one of his best innings. Shanto's 101, Mominul's 91 and the pair's 170-run stand off 257 balls for the third wicket helped the hosts end the opening day on a strong 301/4. Shanto now has nine Test hundreds from 73 innings, making him Bangladesh's second-fastest player behind Mominul Haque, who has more fifties in that time. Shanto's conversion rate also became a talking point, with nine hundreds and five fifties giving him a remarkable conversion rate of 64.28 per cent. This time, the Bangladesh captain chose to counterattack to unsettle Pakistan and, in the process, reached the three-figure mark. "The manner in which Shanto responded pushed them far behind. The bowlers become uneasy on wickets like this when someone comes in and counterattacks. "Shanto deserves full credit for that," Mominul told reporters following the game. "When I first started playing Test cricket for Bangladesh, I used to enjoy batting most from the non-striker's end when Tamim [Iqbal] bhai was batting. He would bat brilliantly even in extremely challenging conditions in New Zealand or Australia. I consider Shanto's current outing to be one of his best. The way he dominated from the start impressed me a lot. "He's in outstanding form. If you look at his last few innings - against Sri Lanka, Ireland, New Zealand - he scored centuries. He made hundreds, despite the pressure. He also scored a century today under extremely challenging conditions. Right now, he is in the best shape of his life." Mominul also gave his captain's conversion rate and tactical savvy special praise. "With regard to walking down the field, that was a component of his mentality and strategy against Abbas. Because the ball is moving in both directions, staying rooted in one spot becomes difficult. He therefore adopted that strategy to prevent the bowlers from settling down. "It's good because someone has to push things to the next level. Seeing him, maybe other people will also get better in the future. He is eager to contribute to the team and become one of the best in the world. These things occur when you have that ambition and carry it out appropriately," Mominul stated. "Staying in the same frame of mind is very important to keep this rhythm going. Both overconfidence and discouragement should be avoided. If the specific batting pattern can be maintained, it's possible to score runs regularly," he added. Mominul stated that he is trying to figure out why he has not been able to turn starts into centuries, despite coming close on multiple occasions in recent times. This pertains to his own batting. He made a joke about how he was most worried about his wife at home after missing out on a 14th Test hundred for the third time in four innings. "I am not frustrated. Today I felt a little bit of frustration, something I hadn't felt in a long time. That too because of the fear my wife might scold me," Mominul said with a smile. Mominul was nine runs short of his 14th hundred when he was trapped lbw by Noman Ali for 91, having registered three 80-plus scores in his last four Tests without converting any into a century. "The ball suddenly stayed low. I observed that there was no run pressure. My goal was to play regular cricket for the last hour. "I could not play the way I had expected, they were bowling well," he stated. When pressed on his conversion rate, Mominul was philosophical. "Why wouldn't I desire centuries? Everyone wants centuries. I try to play the way I enjoy Test batting. I try to stay in the mainstream without giving too much thought. If I can maintain my plan or routine, then there is always a chance of scoring runs," he said, adding that there is a possibility of a mental block. "It could be mental that I can't get a hundred, even though I passed the 50s," I said. Inshallah, I will eventually figure it out. When I go into the field, I don't think about hitting a century; rather, I think about hitting at least five sessions. If you bat five sessions, then 100-150 comes naturally. Maybe I need to be a bit stricter in that area," he admitted. To address those mental challenges, Mominul revealed that he stays in regular contact with former Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha, even spending time in Sydney in December 2025 playing club cricket for Bankstown District Cricket Club under his guidance. "Yes, we are in regular communication. We can talk about anything, he said.