Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto wants his side to break into the top five of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) standings, building on the progress made during the previous cycle.

The team finished seventh in the last edition with four wins, an improvement from consecutive last-place finishes in the first two cycles. Bangladesh currently have one draw and one loss from two matches in the present cycle and are seeking their first victory as they prepare to face Pakistan.

The two-match series against Pakistan begins Friday in Mirpur.

“We have played good cricket over the last two years,” Shanto said on the eve of the match. “Finishing seventh last time was a good achievement, and we are gradually improving. This year, the goal is to perform better. It would be great if we could finish in fourth or fifth place.”

The captain acknowledged that several difficult away tours, including trips to Australia and South Africa later this year, stand in the way of that goal. However, he believes the current squad is better equipped to handle varying conditions.

“There are challenges ahead with tours that will be entirely new for us,” Shanto said. “But our home series are very important. We will try to create conditions and wickets that suit our strengths against specific opponents.”

Shanto described the squad as balanced across pace, spin, and batting departments, which allows the team more flexibility.

Bangladesh enter the series with the confidence of a 2-0 sweep in Pakistan in 2024, though Shanto was quick to dismiss past records as a guarantee of future success.

“We played well in that series, but that is in the past,” he said. “While it gives us extra confidence, we have to play well again. Every day must be better than the last for us to get the result. We aren’t thinking too much about records; it’s about playing competitive cricket daily.”

Preparation for the series has been mixed, with several players recently focused on limited-overs cricket. Shanto, however, expressed satisfaction with the work done by those in the red-ball camp.