T20 World Cup 2024: Shakib Al Hasan raises concerns over Bangladesh's World Cup preparation

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan expressed concerns about the Tigers’ preparation for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024, starting on June 1 in the USA and Caribbean. Shakib said that Bangladesh’s preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 are not ideal.

Former Bangladesh skipper believes they are not playing against top teams leading up to the mega ICC event, and it will certainly have an impact on their performance in the USA and Caribbean. Currently, Bangladesh is gearing up for the global event through a five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe.

Additionally, the Bangladesh National Cricket Team is scheduled to face the USA in a three-match T20I series after the Zimbabwe series, and Shakib stressed that these fixtures do not provide enough preparation for his team for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024.

Our preparations are not ideal for T20 World Cup 2024: Shakib Al Hasan

In contrast, in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup in 2022, Bangladesh participated in a tri-nation series involving New Zealand and Pakistan as part of their preparation. Well, Shakib said that if the Tigers want to do well in the mega event, they have to win three matches in the first round.

Shakib Al Hasan was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz: “It will be wrong if we think about the World Cup by considering our performance against Zimbabwe and USA. World Cup will be played in a different place and the more we can handle pressure, chances will be higher of doing well.”

Speaking about the upcoming USA series, the veteran all-rounder said: “A big reason behind playing against USA is to get adapted to their conditions and to know about the place because there are not too many players who played in USA. Very few have the experience of playing there in Florida (2018) and we will get accustomed with the conditions by playing this series but at the same time I would say this is not ideal (preparation-wise).”

Shakib further reflected on Bangladesh's preparation for the T20 World Cup in 2022, saying Bangladesh had valuable match practice against strong teams like New Zealand and Pakistan, but this time, they will play matches against Zimbabwe and the USA, and it is not that ideal.

Shakib wants DPL to be played in T20 format

Bangladesh is currently experiencing a heatwave, and Shakib expressed concerns about the physical toll of playing 50-over matches in the Dhaka Premier League (DPL). He proposed the idea of playing the DPL in the T20 format, considering the intense heat and the upcoming T20 World Cup.

He feels playing DPL in the T20 format could better align with the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, providing valuable preparation for the national team. However, Bangladesh has not yet announced their preliminary squad for the upcoming mega event.

Bangladesh is placed in Group D alongside Sri Lanka, South Africa, Netherlands, and Nepal at the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. They will open their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against Sri Lanka on June 07 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.