He feels Bangladesh have a good chance in the T20 World Cup 2021.
Ace Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan said his alongside his teammate Mustafizur Rahman’s participation in the second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) will help the Tigers in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE and Oman.
While Shakib is set to be soon seen in action for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Mustafizur will turn up for Rajasthan Royals (RR) when the IPL 2021 resumes in the UAE from September 19.
As reported by Sportstar, Shakib said: “I am hopeful that the IPL will help everyone. We will be spending time in those conditions, play matches too. Mustafiz and I can share the experience with the rest of the team. We will understand the other players' mindset, what they are thinking about the World Cup, and then report it back to our players.”
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He added, “Our team will be in Oman at least 15-16 days before the World Cup, which is enough time for acclimatizing with conditions and wickets. I don't think pitches and conditions here will have any impact over there. We have built a winning mentality, which will help us be confident in the World Cup.”
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has shown tremendous improvement in the T20I cricket lately having recently won series against Zimbabwe, Australia, and New Zealand and gained valuable experience of playing on surfaces similar to the ones they may get in the UAE and Oman in the T20 World Cup 2021.
Shakib said, “I think we have a good chance in the World Cup. We had a good preparation. There is lots of criticism regarding wickets and low scores but at the same time, we have to understand that there is nothing that gives you more confidence than a win. A team carries a winning mentality after success and that gives you the confidence to a different level. We want to go to the World Cup with this confidence.”
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The experienced all-rounder has yet again criticized the pitches at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, where Bangladesh won the last two T20I series against Australia and New Zealand.
He added, “Those who played the last nine-ten matches are all out of form. That's how the wicket was. Nobody did well. I hope the batters don't count this performance. Careers will end if any batter plays 10-15 matches on these wickets. Let's not take this into account. Everyone will try hard to win games for the country.”
Shakib signed off by saying on Bangladesh’s chances in T20 World Cup, “It is difficult to say how far we can go, but I feel we can go all the way at the World Cup. We have to play match by match and if we can do well in the first round, we will carry that confidence and we can give our best in the main round.”
(With PTI Inputs)