Bangladesh should have arranged their local and international calendars differently, according to Shakib Al Hasan, to better prepare for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Before next month’s major event, the Bangla Tigers will play the United States in Houston following their current five-match Twenty20 International series against Zimbabwe. Bangladesh are not playing the best teams in the world of cricket, according to legendary all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, hence they are not training optimally for the T20 World Cup.
“It would be incorrect to see the World Cup through the lens of our results versus the USA and Zimbabwe. Our chances of doing well would increase the more pressure we can handle because the World Cup will be held in a new location,” Shakib Al Hasan told reporters in Dhaka on Saturday.
Bangladesh played New Zealand and Pakistan in a tri-series as part of their preparation for the 2022 T20 World Cup. They put out strong attempts and gained some good practice even though they were unable to win any of the series’ games. Bangladesh won their maiden World Cup match, defeating the Netherlands by nine runs in their opening match. This was Bangladesh’s first victory in the tournament since they defeated the West Indies in 2007. The Asian team continued and defeated Zimbabwe by three runs to secure their second victory of the main round, putting them in position to go to the semi-final. But their dreams were dashed by a loss to Pakistan.
“We did not do exceptionally well in the last World Cup, but we did rather well, and nobody will argue otherwise. We have a chance to surpass that milestone in this World Cup if that is it, he remarked, but we must win three games in the first round in order to do so.
One of the main motivations for playing against the USA is to familiarize yourself with the terrain and conditions there, as not many players have played there. While we will acclimate to the conditions by playing this series, very few players have really played in Florida (2018), so in terms of preparation, I would argue that this is not ideal. We qualified for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia by winning matches against Pakistan and New Zealand, so we obviously had excellent preparation. Nevertheless, this is not ideal. As far as preparation goes, though, this is the best we can do,” the 37-year-old continued.
Shakib Al Hasan takes issue with BCB for holding the DPL in a 50-over format during a heat wave.
There is now a severe heatwave in Bangladesh. According to Shakib Al Hasan, in order to save players from being on the field all day in inclement weather, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) might have held the Super League phase of the Dhaka Premier League (DPL), the nation’s top List A competition, in the T20 format. The seasoned player also believed that this change would have given the national team players some valuable preparation for the T20 World Cup.
“Playing the Super League (DPL) in a T20 format would have been preferable. To spend an entire day in this heat underground is inhumane. It might be managed more sensibly. In that scenario, it would have benefited the national squad as we approach the T20 World Cup. “Somehow, it did not occur,” he continued.
Bangladesh, along with Sri Lanka, South Africa, the Netherlands, and Nepal, is grouped D for the main event. They will kick off their campaign in Dallas on June 8 against the reigning champions, Sri Lanka.
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