Despite criticism of his form during the ongoing T20 World Cup, Bangladesh‘s star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan silenced his critics with a decisive innings against the Netherlands on Thursday. He scored an unbeaten 64 off 46 balls, including nine fours, marking his 13th fifty in T20 cricket and aiding Bangladesh’s push towards qualifying for the Super 12s.
Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag had previously questioned Shakib’s place in the team, suggesting he should have retired from T20s long ago and criticized his recent poor performances in the format.
“During the last World Cup, I thought he should no longer be picked for the T20 format. Time for retirement came a long time ago. You are such a senior player, you were the captain of this team.”
”You should actually be ashamed of your recent numbers. You should come forward and announce yourself that enough is enough, I’m retiring from this format,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
“If you are picked in the World Cup squad for your experience, then show that it was actually worth it. You need to spend some time at the crease at least. You are not Adam Gilchrist or Mathew Hayden. Hooks and pulls are not your strengths You are a Bangladeshi player. You play according to your strength,” he added.
However, after the match against the Netherlands, Shakib responded to Sehwag’s remarks with a succinct one-word reply. When asked about Sehwag’s comments, the 37-year-old referred to the former Indian opener with a simple “who?”
The video has become widely circulated on social media. You can watch the video here:
https://twitter.com/abdullah_0mar/status/1801472437839925450
Shakib, however, implied that a player’s role is to contribute to his team in every possible way, rather than responding to criticism.
“A player’s role is not to answer questions. If he’s a batsman, his job is to bat for the team; if he’s a bowler, his job is to bowl well. Fielders should aim to save runs and take catches. Luck plays a part in getting wickets.”
“As a current player, the focus should be on contributing to the team. Discussions naturally arise when contributions are lacking, which isn’t necessarily negative,” Shakib stated in the post-match press conference.
Following his innings, Shakib acknowledged the importance of a batsman stepping up to score heavily, despite Bangladesh’s total not being sufficiently competitive.
“It was important for someone from the top four to bat throughout the innings. Happy with the way I contributed with the bat. It wasn’t an easy wicket at the start of the innings. We held our nerves, put on a decent total.”
“I won’t say it was a winning total, but it was a challenging total. Bowlers chipped in perfectly, especially the Fizz and Rishad. Those two bowlers took the game away from the Netherlands,” Shakib Al Hasan said in a post-match presentation.
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