“It might have affected the team” - Shakib Al Hasan admits pre-World Cup feud with Tamim Iqbal may have impacted Bangladesh negatively
Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan has conceded that his open war of words with senior batter Tamim Iqbal ahead of the 2023 World Cup might have affected the team's morale.
The seasoned all-rounder made the admission after Bangladesh succumbed to an 87-run loss to the Netherlands in Kolkata on Saturday, October 28 - their fifth straight defeat in the competition.
Tamim was left out of Bangladesh's 15-member World Cup due to fitness issues. However, the opener later claimed that he himself asked not to be picked, as he was told by a Bangladesh Cricket Board member to bat in the middle order. Subsequently, Shakib hit out at Tamim in an explosive interview, terming the his behavior as childish.
After Bangladesh’s crushing defeat to the Dutch on Sunday at the Eden Gardens, Shakib said about his verbal tussle with Tamim:
“It might have affected the team. It’s not unusual. You don’t know what an individual has in his mind, but I am not disagreeing with the fact that (the controversy) might have affected us.”
In a scathing attack on the team, he described Bangladesh’s campaign in the ongoing World Cup in India as their worst ever.
“You can say that (this is Bangladesh’s worst ever World Cup campaign), and I wouldn’t say otherwise. We were pretty underprepared coming into this tournament, but we can’t use that as an excuse,” the experienced all-rounder said.
Shakib himself has had a forgettable campaign, especially with the bat. In five innings, he has a highest score of 40. With his left-arm spin, he has claimed seven wickets.
“We have been poor with the bat all tournament” - Shakib
While analysing Bangladesh’s performance in the 2023 World Cup game against Netherlands, Shakib lamented the lack of application from the batters, adding that it has been a problem throughout their campaign.
“We have been poor with the bat all tournament, and this is as bad as it gets. There is more cricket to come and we have to pick ourselves up, and I know it’s hard, but we have to try to finish the tournament on a high. Throughout the tournament, we have been struggling, I don’t know what’s on the players’ minds,” he said.
“I thought we bowled really well, but we were sloppy in the field. We should have restricted them to 160-170 from the position we were in,” the veteran cricketer added.
Bangladesh’s next game in the 2023 World Cup will be against Pakistan in Kolkata on October 31.