Men’s ODI WC: ‘This is Bangladesh’s worst campaign’, says Shakib Al Hasan after loss to Netherlands

Kolkata, Oct 29 (IANS) Skipper Shakib-Al-Hasan has said that the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup may have been Bangladesh’s worst-ever World Cup campaign after his side suffered their fifth successive loss as the Netherlands toppled them by 87 runs at the Eden Gardens.

Bangladesh began their campaign with winning their opening game against Afghanistan but then they suffered five consecutive losses which pretty much ended their hopes of going beyond the group stage.

“You can say that (it is Bangladesh’s worst World Cup performance) without any doubt. I don’t have an answer to why we played this way,” Shakib told reporters after disappointing loss to Netherlands on Saturday.

“I don’t want to blame anyone. We are a better team than our performance. We were disappointing in this tournament, something that the whole dressing room would agree,” he added.

Bangladesh’s decision to drop Mohammad Mahmudullah down to the seventh position in the batting order against the Netherlands, even after his recent century against South Africa, raised significant concerns and drew considerable attention.

“We have a team of limitations in batting and bowling. We are not comfortable bowling or batting in different times and positions. We are not comfortable facing bowlers in certain times, so we have to adjust all the time. If our batters did well at the top, Riyad and Mushfiq could have performed their roles.

“I agree with you that maybe if Riyad bhai batted higher in the order, we could have done well. Other than that, we have all been disappointing,” he said.

Shakib also pointed out that the departure of the former ODI captain, Tamim Iqbal, from the 50-over format could potentially influence their journey in the World Cup, especially given a feud between them just prior to the World Cup , which was played out in the open.

“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,” said Shakib.

After Saturday’s loss against the Netherlands, Bangladesh’s consistent three-game winning streak in World Cups since 2007 may be in jeopardy as they are scheduled to go up against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Australia in their upcoming three matches.

–IANS

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