'Couldn't have asked for anything more'

Shakib Al Hasan celebrated his side's T20i series victory against world champions West Indies with gusto in Florida yesterday.

The Bangladesh Test and T20i skipper laid his hands on the trophy with a big smile on his face. There were a number of reasons for Shakib to be relieved with this success. The 31-year-old all-rounder not only led his side from the front, which earned him the player-of-the-series award, but also found exuberance on the field to inspire his side to bounce back from a poor showing in the first T20I at St Kitts to win the series 2-1.

The ordinary performance in the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in Dehradun on his return to captaincy raised questions about his involvement with the team, which grew louder following the lacklustre performance in the two-match Test series that started the tour of West Indies and North America. But he brilliantly maintained the tempo of the team after ODI skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza turned things from the 2-0 debacle in the Tests to a 2-1 win in the three-match ODI series. The gumption and grit required to recover from a bad start on a tour was the reason Shakib heaped praise on the team effort and saw this success as a new beginning.

Being a true leader, Shakib was however not completely lost in emotion and instead summarised the outcome of the Caribbean tour in perhaps the best way when the experienced campaigner said: “We now need to work on Test cricket. We are already doing well at home, now we need to go outside home and start winning Test matches.”

He perhaps reminded everybody that the dismal performance in the Test series cannot simply be forgotten because of the success in the ODIs and T20Is.

Shakib however was understandably excited with the T20I series success as there had been a belief that the shortest format of the game remained a hostile territory for the Tigers. Moreover, the success came against a side that are not only world champions but also a formidable force in this format.

“Unbelievable effort from the boys. After losing the first game, we showed a lot of character. Everybody believed we could come back. We were facing the world champions, and we showed great character,” he said during the presentation ceremony.

“Our record in T20s is not that great and hopefully from now on we can kick on,” he added. “Just really proud of the boys. Even the guys not playing put their heart into it and tried to help in whatever way they could. Couldn't have asked for anything more.”

The Bangladesh skipper was happy that they were starting to win more close matches. “We know now how to win matches, especially tight matches. We kept on losing so many matches after going close but now we have started to win.”

Shakib contributed with both bat and ball throughout the series and the ace all-rounder expressed his satisfaction over his performance.

“I think I was batting well throughout the series. I was hitting the ball well, and that gave me the confidence which also helped me bowl well and captain well.”

Finally, he thanked the fans in Floriday. “We never felt like we were away from home thanks to the fans. They were like the 12th man.”