Barbados: Despite being badgered with questions about his retirement, the team’s drop in quality and the 50-run loss to India in the T20 World Cup match on Saturday, Shakib Al Hasan remained calm.
He barely let his emotions get the better of him, save for when he drove into the precise cause of Bangladesh’s poor showing at big events.
“When you are playing against a team like Australia and India, you have to bring your A game,” he said in the post-match press conference. “I think we lack those skill and strength areas. Also, I would say we couldn't do the basic thing long enough to be able to create any sort of pressure."
“Throughout this World Cup, as a batting unit, I don't think we did justice. I think we had the potential to score big runs. The last two games we played here were very good. Wicket probably 175-185 is the par score. We were well short of that against Australia. Today I thought India scored 20 more runs but having said that, the intent we had to show from the start of the innings, I don't think it was there."
He continued, fixated on the lack of scorers: "It is frustrating. They didn't have the confidence to express themselves as it was required. Especially the two matches we played on this ground. See, when there is a flat wicket and it is a 180-200 runs game, then we lag behind. We understand the game of 130, 140, or 150 very well. Because we are used to playing this kind of game all the time. So, naturally, since we are known to this, it is familiar to us. When we have to chase 180-200 then we don't have the thought to play such a game. So, you can say that it's our problem."
The all-rounder also revealed that had it been up to him, he would have batted first. Bangladesh asked India to bat and conceded 196 runs before being bowled out for 146.
“Yeah, I mean personally if you ask me in the Caribbean, it's - I think one or two games I think when England chased that 180. Other than that batting first has been the trend for most of the teams and they have been very successful. So, if you look at the stats, I think, yeah, ideally you would have batted first, but maybe captain and coach thought otherwise,” he said.
He extended the same pseudo-empathy towards the decision to start with the spinners. Bangladesh started with Mahedi Hasan and Shakib.
“Well, that's difficult for me to explain. It's the coach and captain's decision. They decide on who bowls and when. But, from what I can understand, we thought that the wicket would be a little slower. It looked a little drier, maybe at the start of the game. So that's why they thought that there might be some help for the spinners. So that's why I think the captain decided to go with the spinners,” he said.