Shakib Al Hasan, the captain of the Bangladesh Twenty20 team, believes that it is more important to focus on making steady progress in the shortest format rather than pressing for fast success. After suffering a string of defeats in the shortest format, Bangladesh will depart for the Asia Cup on Tuesday (August 23), despite the fact that they have only won two of the thirteen games that they have played ever since the conclusion of the most recent World Cup.
The board of directors decided to start over with the Twenty20 competition, and one consequence of this “turning over a new leaf” was the selection of Shakib as the team’s new captain. Shakib disclosed that BCB president Nazmul Hasan had exerted pressure on him to take the role of captain, but he added that the experience had inspired him to perform better in his role.
“Both leading Test matches and Twenty20 matches are difficult tasks, but the board of directors believed that I was the right person for the job. It’s possible that this is why they choose me to lead both of these forms. Although it is a challenging issue to answer (whether I was willing to take it or not, or whether I was motivated enough to lead the side), I can say that I am fairly motivated at this point. I will do my best to contribute successfully with the knowledge and experience that I have, “Shakib remarked.
However, the seasoned all-rounder was quick to underline that Bangladesh’s metamorphosis into a T20 nation will be a gradual process and that his squad should not be evaluated based on their performance in the Asia Cup, which starts this coming weekend.
“This is a challenge for us (to think about the final). It is imperative that we play well in both of these matches. An accomplishment would be reached if we could even demonstrate a glimmer of progress in comparison to the work we’ve done over the past year and a half “Shakib stated.
“Over the course of the next two months, our primary focus will be on making progress. We have a long list of injured players, but given the amount of cricket played, incidents like this are certain to take place at some point. Even though we can’t have everything go in our favour, we still need to find ways to better our performance given the current situation. It is likely that we will advance to the Super 4s.
“We want to put our attention on the line of progress that is going upward. Even if we win the Asia Cup, it won’t matter much if we don’t perform well in the Twenty20 World Cup because that’s the one that really matters. We need to put our attention on making consistent progress if we want to be among the best teams competing in the World Cup in 2024 and 2026. India has not been victorious in the Twenty20 World Cup since 2007, despite the fact that they are perennial favourites. To me, being that is more essential than anything else “he continued.
“T20 matches, in my opinion, do not have a great deal of expectations attached to them. In this particular format, we’ve never had a record that we could be proud of. It has never behaved in a predictable manner. You should only concentrate and put your money into T20s. According to him, throughout the course of the next five to 10 years, it will ultimately become the most popular format all over the world.
In addition to Shakib, the BCB has decided to make a clean break with the shortest version of the game and has selected Sridharan Sriram to the position of technical director for the Twenty20 competition. As a result of Russell Domingo’s absence from the management team, the former Indian cricketer and current coach would be in charge of all of the preparations for the forthcoming Asia Cup.
After the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Cricket Operations Chairman Jalal Yunus stated that Domingo was not aggressive enough, the Director of the Bangladesh Cricket Team, Khaled Mahmud, insisted that Domingo’s philosophy did not work for them in the shortest format. Shakib didn’t want to talk about Domingo because he didn’t want to dwell on the matter, therefore he argued that starting over was an admission of defeat.
“A new coach has joined our group recently. Everyone will have their own thoughts, but when we step out of the locker room, we should all be working toward the same objective. It’s not necessary for everyone to have faith in the mission, but we have to support it in every way possible “he stated.
“I am unable to refute the fact that it (beginning over again) demonstrates (the failure of Bangladesh cricket). The talk of a fresh start may not be over yet, but we can’t be sure. But if we don’t even do it, we’ll never know for sure whether or not it’s even conceivable. At some time, we were required to initiate a new project. It is for the best that it occurs now.
“We don’t have to alter the way we play cricket, but it is essential that we make effective use of the resources at our disposal. I think that we have a fantastic team dynamic, and we have been successful in the past. We need to maintain our high level of play. We have to start winning, and if we don’t, we have to keep fighting until the very end of the match. Everyone needs to realise that our progress is due in large part to our ability to remain competitive. Not like now, when we are losing before the end of the first inning or within the first 10 overs of the second inning, he stated.
Shakib finished by expressing that he and the management planned to infuse the players with confidence and ensure them that their spots in the team were not in jeopardy in the event of a failure or two. Shakib also stated that the players will be informed of this intention.
“It is our responsibility to instil in the players the assurance that they can make a positive contribution to the squad without having to worry about being replaced. A rookie player will typically feel anxious about making mistakes. We have a responsibility to let them know that they will be a part of the team for a significant amount of time and that their investment will unquestionably produce a return. When you first start playing, fear might feel extremely genuine. It is not out of the ordinary. It can be found in any field of work.”
