Bangladesh cricket star Shakib Al Hasan expressed concerns about the national team’s preparation for the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup, stating that they are not adequately testing themselves against top-tier teams. Shakib emphasized the importance of facing strong opposition as part of the preparation process for major tournaments like the World Cup, citing their previous series against New Zealand and Pakistan before the last edition.
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Shakib On Bangladesh’s Chances in T20 WC
“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,” Shakib said.
“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 considering that this is not ideal. But this is the best we can as far as preparation is concerned,” Shakib added.
Currently engaged in a five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe at home, Bangladesh will then travel to the USA for a three-match series against the co-hosts of the upcoming World Cup.
“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 to the conditions by playing this series but at the same time I would say this is not ideal (preparation-wise),” Shakib added
Shakib noted that Bangladesh’s performance in the 2022 T20 World Cup was satisfactory but not exceptional. He suggested that Bangladesh should assess themselves based on that performance.
Furthermore, Shakib elaborated on the rationale behind scheduling a series against the USA just before the World Cup.
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