Too much pressure from fans; Bangladesh shouldn't play at home for next 2 years, says Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib Al Hasan

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has blamed high expectations of fans, the Bangladesh Cricket Board and media for the bad performance of hosts in World T20. He also mentioned that the cricket team is facing problem of poor infrastructure, poor coaching and less talent.

The 27-year-old has suggested that his team should not play any matches on home grounds for the next two years.

Talking to a local newspaper, Shakib said, “the pressure from fans, the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the media had created an environment where the players stopped thinking about the team and focused on looking after themselves.”

Bangladesh has not performed well in the recent cricket tournaments, despite being the hosts for Asia Cup and World T20, and this has raised many questions about the team.

Shakib said in an interview with local newspaper Prothom Alo that the pressure of fans is affecting players, resulting in poor performances.

“Players get puzzled under these pressures. It becomes difficult to believe in ourselves. When a player thinks that he will get dropped by playing poorly, he stops thinking about the team and only thinks about his game. When four-five players are thinking like this, the rest follow. Coach, captain and players cannot function properly.”

Shakib feels that the only way to reduce fan expectations is by not playing on the home grounds for next 2 years.

“It would be best to play outside the country. There should not be any cricket at home for two years. The expectations of home fans will go down, which will be very good. We should understand how much we expect from the team. When we will produce players of that level, there can be higher expectations. But we don’t have good players in the pipeline, neither is the domestic cricket of a good standard. Our practice facilities are not good and we don’t have a world-class coaching staff,” said Shakib.

Despite helping Bangladesh reach the Super 10s with his all-round performance (he top-scored against Hong Kong with 34 runs and took 3 for 9 to help Bangladesh qualify for next stage), he felt he was not consistent enough in the tournament.

“I did quite well in the first three matches. I don’t know how people will take this, but I sometimes feel that had I not taken three wickets and scored 34 runs against Hong Kong, we wouldn’t be playing in the Super 10s. I wasn’t consistent, didn’t do well in two matches. It can happen in T20s.

“I am not the sort of bowler who can take five wickets.I was never this type of bowler, never have been and never will be. I am not a match-winning bowler like Saeed Ajmal or Sunil Narine. I can bowl a good over when the team needs but I cannot guarantee a wicket. We have one match left [against Australia]. If we can finish well, we will think it was a good World T20,” Shakib concluded.