Bangladesh was knocked out of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 after back-to-back defeats in the group B matches to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, respectively. Bangladesh’s journey ended on Thursday (September 1) with a 2-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in Dubai.
After Bangladesh’s exit, Shakib Al Hasan said that the tournament was an eye opener for their bowlers, and they will be looking for four to five quality fast bowlers for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2022, which will be played in Australia in October and November.
Shakib said after the match: “Before the World Cup, we will be playing a few matches and that might help us. The Asia Cup was an eye opener for our bowlers and their performances.”
The skipper added, “On this pitch, you would expect your pacers to bowl 12 overs and they have to deliver. The ones who will deliver will stay and the ones who won’t deliver won’t stay. In two matches, we tried out four bowlers. Before the World Cup, hopefully, we will find four to five bowlers who will give us 12-14 overs as in Australia, we would have to depend a lot on our pace bowling.”
Meanwhile, Bangladesh replaced their openers, Mohammad Naim Sheikh and Anamul Haque Bijoy, with Sabbir Rahman and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, but the move didn’t pay off against Sri Lanka.
Speaking on the move, Shakib said: “Miraz was always in the mix to open the batting since we were struggling to find a proper opener. We didn’t take that decision against Afghanistan. But there was no guarantee that had he opened the batting, he would have done well. Had Miraz and Sabbir not performed today, people would have criticized the move.”
Bangladesh's captain also said that no balls also played a role in their defeat against Sri Lanka.
He added, “No captain wants a no ball, and a spinner bowling a no ball is a crime. We bowled a lot of no balls and wide balls and that is not disciplined bowling. These are pressure games and we need to learn a lot from here and move forward.”
Shakib signed off by saying about the turning points of the game, “The turning point could be when our batsmen got out (at crucial moments) and spinners bowling a no ball is a crime. It proved how we can break (down) in a pressure situation. We need to improve on that skill-wise but we break whenever there is pressure and lose the game. We need to improve a lot in the death overs.”
(With NEWS18 Inputs)
