When asked if the Bangladesh cricket community should have high expectations for the Asia Cup, which will begin later this month, Shakib Al Hasan responded that the team was seeking long-term stability in the T20 format.
“It is difficult for us to reach the final. If we can show a bit of improvement from what we have done in the last year-and-a-half, it would be an achievement.
We should make it to the Super 4s, but I feel that if we can’t achieve targets that we set before a tournament, you will tell us that we talk big but can’t achieve targets. Let us keep our targets in the dressing room. I don’t want to discuss it here.”
he was quoted as saying.
The Bangla Tigers finished second to India in the Asia Cup’s one and only T20 competition, but they haven’t played particularly well recently, winning just two of ten games since the T20 World Cup that took place in the UAE and Oman last year.
“We don’t have to change the way we play cricket but it is important that we use our resources properly. I believe that we are a good team and we have done it before. We have to play well consistently,”
he added.
In recent memory, the Bangla batting unit has disintegrated with frightening regularity, adding to Bangladesh’s struggles in the 50-over format. To make matters worse for Shakib’s men, the bowling also struggled in the most recent 2-1 defeat to Zimbabwe.
Shakib said that he was also worried about the team’s fielding, which he thought might be remedied with a shift in mentality. Even after some adjustments with respect to the support staff in the Bangladesh set-up, skipper Shakib didn’t want to talk about a “fresh beginning.”
In addition to the new captain, Sridharan Sriram has been appointed as a new technical consultant for the side, despite the presence of Russell Domingo amongst the coaching staff.
Bangladesh are grouped along with Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in Group B of the Asia Cup. Despite playing down the attention from the media, they will be hoping for a strong showing in the tournament.
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