Fear of demoting from No.3 position key behind Shakib's resurgence!
BCB- Roton Gomes
|| CF Correspondent ||
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan said that he is well aware that failing at number three can prompt team management to demote him down the order but insisted it’s just the start of a new journey for him.
Shakib remained the mainstay in Bangladesh innings during their 106 loss against England with a superb century and though it went in vain but not before making a statement at number three batting slot.
Shakib, who batted at number five for most of his career, averages higher at number three where he was promoted 18 months ago against West Indies at their own backyard.
Shakib first batted at three in 2014 against Zimbabwe where he scored a duck while the second time he batted in the same position was in 2017, where he made 29 against South Africa. He, however, put his hand up with two fantastic performances against West Indies in their own den to grab the spot in last July with two half-centuries in the three-match ODI series.
In the 18 innings that Shakib played so far at number three, he has scored eight half-centuries and a hundred, scoring 831 runs at an average of 51.93.
Shakib has majorly played at number five where he scored 3852 runs from 125 innings with five centuries and thirty half-centuries at an average of 35.33 runs.
“It is different. You need to face some different challenges. But I'm enjoying at this moment, but having said that, you know, just the start, I need to contribute as much as I can with both bat and ball,’’ Shakib told reporters after the match.
‘’So I thought it's a better opportunity for me, you know, to contribute more with the bat. So at this moment, I'm enjoying, but having said that, you know, there are plenty more matches in this tournament and after that,’’ he said adding that he had to convince a lot of people to promote his batting order when a journalist asked him about it.
‘’Yeah, [ I have to convince everyone]. Because if I don't score runs in a single match, they think he should be batting at No. 5; he's better down at 5. You know, I had to convince a lot of people to bat at No. 3, but it's working at this moment,’’ he concluded
