Not long before we perform like we used to: Shakib
Speaking at a UNICEF ceremony in New York on Thursday, ace Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan said that the Tigers are going through a transition period and would soon revive their flagging fortunes in order to live up to expectations.
The Bangladesh Test and T20I skipper was speaking in his capacity as UNICEF Bangladesh Goodwill Ambassador in a ceremony where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received an award titled ‘Champion of Skill Development for Youth’ for Bangladesh’s success in youth skill development.
Shakib at first spoke of how the nation placed youth at the centre of its policies, and how the premier had done excellent work to further the cause. The Prime Minister then urged him to say a few words on cricket.
Bangladesh have not had the best of times on the field of play of late, finishing eighth in the recent World Cup and then losing an ODI series in Sri Lanka 3-0. The woes continued at home as they lost the one-off Test against newcomers Afghanistan in Chattogram, before losing to the same opponents in their first league-stage match of the T20I tri-series. The Tigers then turned things around by beating Afghanistan in their second match and went on to share the trophy after the final was washed out in Mirpur last Tuesday.
Shakib believed that the Tigers could bounce back from the string of undesirable results.
“We believe we are a good team. Every team goes through a transition period and currently we are in that position,” he said.
The Tigers had sporadic success in the last few years with the high point being their win in the tri-nation series in Ireland before the 2019 World Cup. They are still a struggling side in Tests, although memories of home Test wins against the likes of England, Australia and West Indies can give them a boost with their Test Championship campaign to begin in India in November.
“It won’t take long before we can start to perform like we did before.”
The 2020 World Twenty20 in Australia is firmly in Bangladesh’s focus and while it is a format that the team has generally struggled in, Shakib was of the opinion that his team was capable enough to battle it out and achieve objectives.
“We have two World Cups [2023 World Cup in India being the other] in front of us, starting with the T20 World Cup. I firmly believe that we will make our country proud there.”
