Big Bash best way to prepare for World Cup: Shakib Al Hasan

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Dhaka, Dec 28 (IANS) Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has said that playing in Australia's domestic Big Bash Twenty 20 cricket tournament would enable him to prepare in the best possible way for the ICC World Cup to be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand next year.

Hasan, who will be playing for the Melbourne Renegades in the competition, is expected to leave for Australia in the first week of January, three weeks before the departure of the national team.

"The best thing is that I will be able to play in a number of grounds there and will be able adjust with the weather. There can't be any better way to prepare for the World Cup," Shakib was quoted as saying by Bangladeshi newspaper Daily Star's website.

"I'll be getting 20 extra days there and that will be a big deal. The players over there know what to do in order to be successful in their conditions. That is something that I can't learn here," Shakib said.

"Things like how much the ball swings, or how high the bounce would be, I can pass on this information to my teammates," he added.

The restriction put on Shakib in regards to foreign leagues was lifted some days ago. He thanked the Bangladesh Cricket Board president for "trusting" him and believed that he was quite "lucky" to get a team on such short notice.

Shakib rated Big Bash as one of the more competitive foreign leagues that he has played in and expects the upcoming endeavour to be challenging.

"With regards to how tough leagues are, I think Big Bash would right up there. It's challenging and also if I perform well it will give my confidence a boost in the World Cup," explained Shakib.