After a year in exile from cricket, Bangladesh ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan said that he went to play in the 2019 World Cup with great discomfort. Speaking in a YouTube video where he took questions from fans and journalists, Shakib repented his failure to report an approach, for which he was banned for 12 months by the ICC. The ban came to an end recently on October 29.
In response to a question from fans and journalists on his YouTube channel on Wednesday night, Shakib said how uncomfortable he was at the World Cup, “I think it is very challenging. Because it was being investigated for a long time. They were in regular contact with me, naturally it was very uncomfortable for me. It's never a beautiful feeling for a player. It must have been a very difficult time.
But even in such a difficult situation, his batting and bowling were surprisingly successful. Only Rohit Sharma and David Warner have scored more runs in the entire World Cup. They have played more matches than him. He has scored 5 fifties and 2 centuries in 8 matches.
Shakib said it had been a mental challenge for him to play the 2019 World Cup with the investigation hanging over his head.
"I knew something was going to happen, although I did consider that nothing
might happen. I wasn't sure of the punishment. By the time I knew about it, you were also aware of it. The investigation period wasn't certainly an easy one for me."
"It had nothing to do with my World Cup performance," he said. "I could have been banned before the World Cup because the investigation began in November or December (2018). I never thought that I had to do well because of the investigation.
"I wanted to do well in the World Cup because I didn't do well in previous World Cups, I didn't live up to my reputation previously. I thought it was the perfect time and age for me. [Batting at No. 3] was a suitable position for me, so I tried to maximise it."
The ace all-rounder was also asked if he would be able to get the trust and confidence of his teammates as before.
“It is a bit of a difficult question to answer. It is actually tough to say who has what going on in their minds. There may be doubts and there may be issues in trusting me. But as I was in constant touch with all of my teammates during my ban, I hope that it will not be much of a problem. But it is true that they may have doubts. I will not regret that. However, my ban was such an incident that doubts can arise in the corner of anyone’s mind. But I always had confidence in my teammates and nothing will change in that regard,” said Shakib.
BCB announced on October 4 that Shakib will take part in the upcoming fitness test on November 9 to make himself eligible for the forthcoming Bangabandhu T20.
BCB decided that players selected in the draft list for the upcoming T20 tournament in November-December will have to undergo a mandatory fitness test before being considered eligible for the competition. Therefore, it is now only a matter of time before the cricket fanatics will get to see Shakib’s scintillating all-round display on the field.