Vaibhav Tripathi
Shakib Al Hasan, the captain of Bangladesh’s ODI team, has emphasized the need for his side to play to potential and deliver in the men’s World Cup, scheduled in India later this year.
“It (captaincy) is nothing new to me. It’s a great opportunity for us to do well in the World Cup. I think we are a very good team and this is the time to show how good we are. It’s a great challenge for our team to showcase how good we have become in the last four years,” Shakib said during a mid-innings interview with presenter Ridhima Pathak in the LPL 2023 match between Galle Titans and Jaffna Kings.
Shakib was recently reappointed captain after Tamim Iqbal stepped down. The veteran all-rounder will lead the team in the Asia Cup in Pakistan and Sri Lanka as well.
Shakib’s success rate as captain in 50 ODIs is 46.93%. He has contributed 1,547 runs at 35.97 in that role and hit three centuries and nine half-centuries. Additionally, the left-arm spinner has clinched 68 wickets at an average of 29.23 and maintained an economy rate of 4.63 while leading.
Shakib’s previous assignment as ODI captain was against Ireland at Malahide on May 12, 2017, which concluded without a result. He was one of the standout performers in the 2019 World Cup in England.