(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] Bangladesh cricket is going down the hill as the Shakib Al Hasan-led side is hanging by a thread and is all but eliminated from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 after having lost five matches out of six, which includes an 87-run recent defeat to the Netherlands that happened on Saturday at Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens. Bangladesh failed to chase down the target of 230 runs and crumbled out at a score of 142 in 42.2 overs.
ICC’s number one ranked ODI all-rounder and Bangladeshi skipper Shakib admitted that his feud with veteran batter Tamim Iqbal worked against the team and also affected their overall performance.
Tamim was not selected for the World Cup 2023 by the Bangladeshi selectors, and it was further revealed that Shakib was also responsible for his exclusion from the 15-member squad.
“It might have affected the team. It’s not unusual. You don’t know what an individual has in his mind but I am not disagreeing with the fact that (the controversy) might have affected us,” Shakib said as quoted.
Furthermore, the 36-year-old also agreed that this is the worst campaign ever for the Bangladesh team in the history of World Cups. On Saturday in Kolkata, the Dutch team recorded the biggest win for an associate nation against a full member side (Bangladesh) in a World Cup match.
“You can say that (this is Bangladesh’s worst ever World Cup campaign) and I wouldn’t say otherwise. We were pretty underprepared coming into this tournament but we can’t use that as an excuse,” he added.
The Bangla Tigers are left with only three matches in the ongoing quadrennial tournament. They will next face Pakistan on 31st October in Kolkata.