Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan expressed concern on Saturday (May 4) regarding their ICC T20 World Cup preparation, stating that it is less than optimal due to the absence of matches against top-tier teams leading up to the tournament. He emphasized the importance of facing strong opponents for better readiness and performance. Shakib’s remarks underscore the team’s desire for more challenging practice matches to fine-tune their skills and strategies before the prestigious event, acknowledging the need to enhance their preparation despite current limitations in scheduling high-profile fixtures.
Bangladesh’s T20WC Preparation:
Bangladesh is gearing up for the upcoming global event through a five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe and will face the USA in a three-match series afterward. In their preparation for the 2022 T20 World Cup, Bangladesh participated in a tri-nation series with New Zealand and Pakistan. Despite not securing victories in the series, Bangladesh showcased resilience and competitive spirit. This year, the team aims to leverage these opportunities to refine their game and build momentum leading up to the T20 World Cup, emphasizing the value of competitive matches against diverse opponents in honing their skills and strategy.
Shakib Al Hasan on This Preparation:
Regarding Bangladesh’s ongoing T20I series against Zimbabwe for the upcoming T20I World Cup, Bangladesh’s player Shakib Al Hasan said, “It will be wrong if we think about the World Cup by considering our performance against Zimbabwe and USA. World Cup will be played in a different place and the more we can handle pressure, chances will be higher of doing well.”
He further said, “In the last World Cup we performed reasonably and though we didn’t do extremely well no one will say we did bad. If that is our benchmark then we have a chance of crossing it in this World Cup and if we want to do that we have to win three matches in the first round.”
He added, “A big reason behind playing against USA is to get adapted to their conditions and to know about the place because there are not too many players who played in USA. Very few have the experience of playing there in Florida (2018) and we will get accustomed with the conditions by playing this series but at the same time I would say this is not ideal (preparation-wise).”
He further responded, “In Australia (T20 World Cup in 2022) we went after playing against New Zealand and Pakistan and so certainly we went to the World Cup on the back of very good preparation and taking that into consideration this is not ideal. But this is the best we can as far as preparation is concerned.”
Shakib Al Hasan expressed dissatisfaction with the decision makers at BCB, suggesting that it would have been more beneficial to convert the super league phase of the Dhaka Premier League, Bangladesh’s traditional List A tournament, into a shorter format. He believed this adaptation could have better prepared the players for T20 cricket, aligning their competitive experience more closely with the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup format and requirements. Bangladesh faces a heat wave; playing 50 overs felt extreme.
He concluded, “It would have been better if the Super League( DPL) is played in T20 format. It is inhuman to be in the ground for the whole day under this heat,” he noted. “It could be handled more responsibly. We have T20 World Cup ahead and in that case it would have been helpful for the national team. Somehow it did not happen.”
Stay updated with all the cricketing action, follow Cricadium on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, and Instagram
