Sports Desk:

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said the team is not worried about veteran all-rounder Shakib al Hasan’s performance in the ongoing ICC T20 Cricket World Cup 2024.

The statement from the Bangladesh skipper has come at the back of a wide discussion of whether it is time to bench Shakib for his below-par performance.

Shakib has been out of form with both the bat and the ball in the two games played so far.

Against Sri Lanka in the first match, the left-arm all-rounder scored just 8 runs and bowled only three overs, giving away 30 runs.

In the close defeat against South Africa, Shakib bowled only one over for unexplained reasons and let down the team with the bat, scoring 3 runs before gifting the wicket to the opponents.

Bangladesh lost the game by four runs and Shakib got bombarded with criticism for the way he gave away his wicket. Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag made harsh criticism of Shakib after the match.

Chasing a target of 114, Bangladesh was in the driving seat but lost the plot as Shakib lasted just four balls. Sehwag said that Shakib should have retired from the T20 format long ago.

Shanto speaking on Shakib’s agenda said the team doesn’t want to be worried about Shakib and it is not important what the people think about the former Bangladesh captain.

“We are not worried about Shakib bhai’s performance and we do not want to speak about it. We all know how important he has been to Bangladesh cricket. It is more important to see what he is thinking rather than what the people are saying. He is trying his best. He is in a good place, I’ll say,” said Shanto to the reporters in Saint Vincent on Wednesday [BST].

Arguments are wide about Shakib dealing with retinal issues since the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. But as it has been, neither Shakib nor the team management have addressed the matter officially. It is understood by Dhaka Tribune that Shakib has extensively been trying to recover from the eye problem, both at a personal level and with help from the Bangladesh Cricket Board [BCB].

“I think it is all fine [Shakib’s eye problem]. He has been doing well in the practice sessions. One can have a bad patch and there is no additional pressure on me as the captain of the team. I know even Shakib bhai is not under any pressure. He is vastly experienced and will soon bounce back,” said Shanto.

Bangladesh in Group D of the 20-nation tournament will be in the race to make it to the Super 8 if they can win against the Netherlands at Saint Vincent on Thursday. The game is scheduled to start at 8:30 PM BST.

According to the tournament seeding, if Bangladesh can make it to the next round of the competition, they will be grouped with India, Australia and Afghanistan.