PAK vs BAN: 'If Mahmuddullah Batted Higher Up In The Order...'- Shakib Al Hasan Adds Fuel To Fire After Loss To Netherlands

Following a crushing 87-run defeat to the Netherlands in the ongoing ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023, Bangladesh National Cricket Team captain Shakib Al Hasan expressed his disappointment, describing their campaign as their worst in World Cup history.

The Shakib Al Hasan-led team suffered their fifth consecutive loss in the World Cup 2023 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday, October 28. The Bangla Tigers were bowled out for 142 runs in 42.2 overs while chasing a moderate total of 229 runs set by the Dutch team.

Bangladesh’s Worst World Cup Performance – Shakib Al Hasan

During a post-match press conference, Shakib found it difficult to explain why the team underperformed in the World Cup. The star all-rounder described the recent loss as a hard-to-swallow defeat and stated that such setbacks are part of cricket.

“You can say that [it is Bangladesh’s worst World Cup performance] without any doubt. I don’t have an answer as to why we played this way. We were sloppy in the field. We bowled brilliantly,” Shakib told reporters.

“We haven’t batted the way we can bat throughout the tournament. It is a big concern. Today was another day when we totally gave the Dutch the two points. It is hard to swallow. It is very difficult to digest. These things can happen in cricket.”

We Have All Been Disappointing – Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib Al Hasan highlighted the batting unit’s failures as a key factor in Bangladesh’s lackluster performance in the tournament. He stated that, apart from Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim, the rest of the batting unit had underperformed.

“As a batting unit, if you ask me to summarise our six matches, I would say that we were very poor. Other than Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim, all other batters were not up to the mark,” Shakib further added.

“If our batters did well at the top, Riyad [Mahmudullah] and Mushfiq could have performed their roles. I agree with you that maybe if Riyad bhai batted higher in the order, we could have done well. Other than that, we have all been disappointing.”

Bangladesh will face Babar Azam’s team in their next match at the same venue on Tuesday, October 31. Currently, they are positioned ninth in the 10-team points table, just above the England team.

Also read: NED vs BAN: Bangladesh Should Retire From Cricket! Twitter Reacts As Netherlands Crush Shakib Al Hasan & Co.