ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Shakib Al Hasan Provides Massive Update On Bangladesh Captaincy Future

Bangladesh All-Rounder and all-format captain Shakib Al Hasan who is currently facing time off the field due to a finger injury he sustained during the ICC Cricket World Cup in India last year, provided a major update on his future as captain and player of the Bangladesh national team.

Shakib Al Hasan has been out of action since leaving the CWC mid-way through the tournament after injuring his finger during the group stages. He has not been able to come back since then and has missed a number of games for the Bangla Tigers.

Though he has not fully recovered, Shakib has started practicing for the upcoming edition of the Bangladesh Premier League, which is slated to start on January 19th. The domestic event will be important for them and could serve as a preparation for its contracted players who will take part in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the summer.

The Bangladesh cricket board has high hopes for this year’s edition especially because of the way the team has been playing T20 cricket off late. Under the captaincy of interim skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, Bangladesh had quite a successful end to their month-long home series against New Zealand which included 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, and 3 T20Is.

Shanto’s side after beating the Kiwis in the 1st Test, might have lost the 2nd but the most important thing was that Bangladesh picked up maiden ODI and T20 wins over the Blackcaps. While the Test series remained a 1-1 draw, the Kiwis clinched the ODI series by 2-1 and the T20I series remained 1-1 as well.

This has definitely given them a lot of confidence ahead of the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies. Bangladesh will look to register their maiden appearance in the semi-finals of any ICC tournament.

Their best-ever performance in the T20 WC came in 2016 when they finished as group winners but were knocked out of the event in the following stage. And with doubts looming over Shakib Al Hasan’s comeback in the National team, it will be interesting to see if BCB appoints Najmul Shanto as the permanent captain.

Shakib Al Hasan Returns Training For BPL 2024 But National Team Return Depends Upon Meeting With BCB

After remaining on the sidelines for almost 2 months, Shakib Al Hasan has returned to train with his new BPL franchise Rangpur Riders at the Basundhara Sports Complex. The 2024 edition of the BPL will be important for him to get some game time in case he is there with the team for the T20 World Cup.

His availability is up for debate as he has become politically active in Bangladesh and a meeting with the BCB in the next days will decide his future with the team.

“No discussion on it (national team captaincy) so far but I will talk with the board and there will be a discussion about it. Later a decision will be taken in this regard by everyone that will be best for the team. Expectations are high every time and it will be the same this time too since we have been playing very well for the last one year in T20 editions.” – Shakib Al Hasan said. 

Shakib Al Hasan Claims Conditions In the USA & West Indies Suitable For Bangladesh

While speaking about the balance of the current Bangladesh team, Shakib Al Hasan claimed that everyone in the team is doing very well and expectations from their fans will be very high when the T20 World Cup starts. He stated that the conditions in the USA and West Indies are going to suit them. Shakib concluded by giving an update on his finger injury.

“The team is balanced now and everyone is playing well and we played well in New Zealand and so expectations will be high. It will be played in the United States and West Indies where our cricket perhaps will be more suitable, so we will have a chance. I’ve started training but it will take a few more days. As I bowl with this finger (which got injured) naturally it will take some time but the progress is good.” – Shakib Al Hasan concluded.