'Winning the World Cup will be enough' - Shakib
Bangladesh Test & T20I captain Shakib Al Hasan has once again revealed his craving for World Cup crown in a recent interview with Pavilion. The ace all-rounder also said that a brief county stint before the World Cup will be very beneficial to him.
When asked to choose between a Man of the Match award in the World Cup final, and a century and ten-wicket haul at the Lord’s or the SCG, Shakib replied, “Winning the World Cup will be enough, then I won’t need any of these.”
“Of course, I want to play [county cricket]. But due to the lack of time, it does not really happen. But there is a desire if I can play some matches before the World Cup (2019) that will be very good too,” Shakib said regarding his desire to return to county cricket.
The 31-year-old talked about his new IPL team—Sunrisers Hyderabad and the tournament itself. He also emphasized the need for the growth of T20 cricket.
“It’s been a day since I arrived. I can understand [the team condition] four or five days later maybe. There are a lot of new teammates, it will take some days for the bond to be created,” he said about his team’s situation.
Regarding the cash-rich league, the Tigers’ skipper said, “It [IPL] is the oldest tournament to say so. That is why it has its own significance. And it has more things to offer; players can play more matches, it has more exposure, more people are involved here and there is more money as well. In all, it's the biggest tournament.”
While sharing his take on the importance of T20s, Shakib said, “It seems important to me, it is possible to spread cricket through the expansion of T-20. The T20 format is important.”
While T20s are gaining popularity all over the world and spreading the joy of the game, some of ICC’s decision has been questionable such as the number of participants in the ODI World Cup. Other than some emerging cricketing nations like the United Arab Emirates or Scotland, full members of the organization like Zimbabwe and Ireland will also not feature in the upcoming showcase event.
The development of the shortest format and preventing more countries to take part in the global event have been like two opposite sides of a coin. However, the no. 1 all-rounder was reluctant to make any comments on this matter.
“It's a sensitive issue, it wouldn’t be right for me to comment on it,” said Shakib.
The onus of leading Bangladesh in two totally different formats is on the southpaw but he sees no difference in these formats. Although he was not certain to state it, according to him, the kind of attitude Bangladesh cricket had during the Nidahas Trophy, could become the ultimate brand of Bangladeshi cricket.
He said, “Doesn’t seem different to me. I have to think of winning in both cases [Tests and T20Is]. The form of thinking might be different.”
“It's a little difficult to say. However, if we have the same approach [in future] then there is a possibility of doing well most of the time,” he added.
