Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag has said that Shakib al Hasan is not a Matthew Hayden or an Adam Gilchrist who can play pull shots off short-pitched deliveries, rather he is just a player from Bangladesh. Shakib scored just three runs during the 114-run chase against Bangladesh that they ultimately lost by just four runs.
Shakib has had a troublesome last six months or so. He left during the latter stages of the 2023 ODI World Cup because of an injury, gave away his captaincy and struggled with an eye problem, before making his international comeback in the home series against Zimbabwe.
Sehwag said that as a senior player, Shakib should have played a bigger role in the run chase. "If he was included in the squad for experience, then we were not able to see it. At least spend some time at this wicket, it is not like you are not Hayden or Gilchrist who can play a pull shot of a short ball, you are just a player from Bangladesh," Sehwag said while speaking on Cricbuzz.
Not just Sehwag, but former Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel also hit out at Shakib. "There are expectations on Shakib, and that is not wrong, because he has been playing since the first World Cup. Especially when the team is in trouble, the young players in the team will obviously look up to him. Shakib said after losing the series to USA that it was a wake-up call," Parthiv said.
Batting down the order in Bangladesh's T20 World Cup opener against Sri Lanka in Dallas, Shakib managed only eight runs off 14 balls before being dismissed, thanks to an excellent catch by Maheesh Theekshana.
Shakib hasn't been impactful with the bat in the shortest format for a while now and even had an average Bangladesh Premier League campaign.
Shakib and his mates will next play the Netherlands on June 13 at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent.
Source: Times Now