Ace Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is not really someone who mopes with the fact of warming the bench in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), as he is investing time to be in the best physical shape possible for the upcoming World Cup 2019 in England.
The ongoing IPL 2019 is completely different Shakib, as the all-rounder was the key figure for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the last season, helped the franchise to play IPL 2019 final with his all-round show, bagging 14 wickets and scoring 239 runs from 17 games, but this season, he even could find it to make it to the playing XI, as he played just two matches for SRH so far in the tournament.
However, the all-rounder has admitted that was disappointing to not playing regularly in the IPL 2019, especially with the World Cup just around the corner, but he is aware of the dilemma of the management, saying he is giving is best to be match ready whenever the opportunity comes.
Shakib told CricketNext on Friday, 26th April, “It's disappointing when you're not playing regularly. But you have to look at the way overseas players have performed. It's a difficult situation for the team management as there are so many quality payers sitting on the bench. In fact, in all this time I have been training even more than I would usually do in between matches.”
He continued, “I have been doing everything to stay fit and have been working towards everything I had to. It's good that I'm getting some time to train properly and get fitter and stronger. I look at it (sitting out) this way -- the way you assess the match while playing is different from the way you assess it while sitting out. You just get to learn a lot from it too.”
On SRH’s show in the ongoing IPL 209, he noted, “In T20, a team's top three will get will be the ones doing most of the scoring. The middle-order and lower-order can only chip in with a few runs as and when the situation demands. At this moment, it is not happening for the team, but the players and the team will work their way out of the tricky situation and come good in the next few games. Last year was good for us in terms of death bowling but this year we have been conceding more runs. Everyone is working on it. Hopefully, we will reduce leaking runs from here on.”
Meanwhile, the all-rounder decided to skip Bangladesh’s World Cup preparatory camp to remain with the franchise, as he is hoping to feature more regularly in the final stages of the tournament.
He added, “Right now, my focus is solely on the IPL. And then we have the tri-series against the West Indies and Ireland which is very important for us (Bangladesh). So, there is still some time left for the World Cup. We'll think about it as we get closer to it.”
Shakib signed off by saying, “Having said that, we have a very good side for the World Cup. I'm a little worried about our bowling, especially with the new ball and at the death. But then I'm optimistic that we can go a long way in the tournament. We have the most experienced guys in the side, who have played 3-4 World Cups, so they know what all needs to be done.”
(With CricketNext Inputs)
