"We have built a winning mentality, which will help us be confident in the T20 World Cup"- Shakib Al Hasan
Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan feels his side will be confident entering the T20 World Cup, which is to be held in the UAE and Oman. He said the team has built a winning mentality in the shortest format following their hat-trick of series wins recently.
Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe (2-1), Australia (4-1), and New Zealand (3-2) in their last three T20I series. They have gathered enough experience to play on spinning tracks that suit slow bowlers. Similar kind of pitches are to be expected in the UAE and Oman, where the 2021 T20 World Cup will take place.
ESPNcricinfo quoted Shakib as saying:
"Our team will be in Oman at least 15-16 days before the World Cup, which is enough time for acclimatizing with conditions and wickets. I don't think the pitches and conditions here will have any impact over there. We have built a winning mentality which will help us be confident in the World Cup."
The ex-Bangladeshi captain stated that the IPL will help him and his fellow countryman, Mustafizur Rehman, hugely. The second phase of IPL 2021, which is going to start on September 19, is also going to be played in the UAE. Shakib added that:
'' I'm hopeful that the IPL will help everyone. We will be spending time in those conditions, playing matches too. Mustafiz and I can share our experience with the rest of the team. We will understand the other players' mindset, what they are thinking about the World Cup, and then report it back to our players"
Shakib also couched his views on the criticism over the pitches in Dhaka during the recent series against New Zealand
Expressing his views about the pitches used in the New Zealand series, Shakib said:
"I think we are well prepared, by winning these last three (T20I) series. There's been a lot of criticism about pitches and low scores, but there's nothing better than winning. Such a winning streak takes confidence to a different level. You wouldn't have it if you played well but lost. We want to go to the World Cup with confidence,"
He also defended his batters and urged them not to count on their low-scoring performances on these kinds of tracks. Shakib said that careers will end if any batter plays 10-15 matches on the kind of surfaces we have seen in Bangladesh in recent times. He quoted that:
'' Those who've played the last nine or ten matches are all out of form. That's how the wicket was. Nobody did well. I hope the batters don't count this performance. Careers will end if any batter plays 10-15 matches on these wickets. Let's not take this into account. Everyone will try hard to win games for the country."
Bangladesh will arrive in the capital city of Oman, Muscat, at least two weeks ahead of their first fixture in round one of the 2021 T20 World Cup. They will clash with Scotland on October 17 before coming up against Oman on 19 October and Papua New Guinea on 21 October.