NZ vs BAN: Shakib Al Hasan Reveals He Played The World Cup With One Eye

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has revealed that he faced discomfort in his eyes throughout the ICC World Cup 2023. Shakib Al Hasan also revealed that the doctor told him it was due to stress-related issues.

Shakib Al Hasan was the captain of Bangladesh in the ICC World Cup 2023. The team delivered a miserable show under his captaincy. Out of 9 games, they won just 2 matches and failed to reach the semi-finals. Bangladesh also lost to Afghanistan to register a big upset in the tournament.

Moreover, Shakib Al Hasan also struggled with his form during the World Cup. The left-handed batsman could only muster 186 runs across 7 games averaging 26.57. It was a bigger downfall than his earlier show in the 2019 ODI World Cup, where he slammed 606 runs and picked 11 wickets in England.

Also Read: NZ vs BAN: Soumya Sarkar Surpasses Sachin Tendulkar’s Unique Record With Stupendous Ton vs New Zealand

I Had Huge Discomfort Facing The Ball: Shakib Al Hasan

During a conversation with Cricbuzz, Shakib Al Hasan revealed that he faced issues in facing the ball during ICC World Cup 2023 due to some issues in his eyes. He also informed he went to a doctor who gave him eye drops and termed it a stress-related issue.

“It is not in one or two games in the World Cup, rather I was having it throughout the World Cup. It could have happened. I had huge discomfort facing the ball. The thing is that when I went to the doctor there was water in my cornea or retina and they had given me drops and told me that I have to lower my stress”, he said. 

However, the Bangladesh all-rounder also said that he had the issues later too, even after the World Cup was over and he had no stress.

“I am not sure whether that was the reason. But when I again checked in America there was no stress and I told the doctor there is no World Cup so naturally there is no stress,” the left-arm spinner further added.

Also Read: NZ Vs BAN: New Zealand T20 Squad for Bangladesh Announced, Rachin Ravindra Sidelined

Team Was Not Ready With My Philosophy In World Cup: Shakib Al Hasan

Notably, Shakib Al Hasan was made the ODI skipper just before the ICC World Cup 2023. Tamim Iqbal announced his retirement from ODI cricket and Hasan had to take the ODI captaincy on his shoulders. Hasan said that if he had got the captaincy earlier, it would have helped.

“I’m not ready to put that as an excuse for stress as I have done captaincy. But if I had got that earlier, it would have been easy because if I had time I could make everything ready and go there,” the 36-year-old further added.

Hasan also added that the team was not ready to follow his thinking and philosophy during the tournament. He also added that Bangladesh struggled to perform in ODIs throughout 2023.

“The problem I faced was that the team was not ready the way I was thinking or the philosophy through which I wanted to play. If you see not only during the World Cup but through 2023 our ODI performances were not good,” Hasan concluded.

Shakib Al Hasan Skipped New Zealand Tour

Meanwhile, Meanwhile, Shakib Al Hasan took a break from the ongoing Bangladesh tour of New Zealand 2023. In his absence, Najmul Hossain Shanto led the team in the ODI series. Bangladesh lost the ODI series 2-1 after losing the first two games. They won the final encounter by 9 wickets.

Bangladesh and New Zealand will now wrestle with each other in a three-match T20I series. The opening T20I clash will take place on Wednesday, December 27 at McLean Park in Napier. The next two encounters will take place on December 29 and 31.