DHAKA, Jan 20, 2021 (BSS) – Shakib Al Hasan who enjoyed a success with cherry on his return to International cricket insisted that he thrived in the first ODI against West Indies today by keeping the things simple.
Shakib produced a bowling figure of 7.2-2-8-4 to single-handedly demolish the inexperienced West Indies side as the visitors were dismissed for 122 runs, their second lowest against Bangladesh.
Shakib who last played a ODI game in 2019 World Cup against Pakistan before being banned by the ICC for his failure to report the corrupt approaches from the bookies, remained off colour in both batting and bowling in the last two domestic tournaments, which prompted critics to come hard on him.
But the criticism could not dent the mood of the ace all-rounder who performed when it mattered most.
“Playing after 16-17 months is not easy. But happy with the way I performed,” Shakib told the broadcaster after the first innings of the first ODI today.
“The thing is, we haven’t played for 10 months. Everyone is anxious and keen to play matches. Everyone was nervous today, but also very excited.”
He went on saying: “My game plan was to keep it simple, just pitch the ball in the right areas, and hope for the wicket to do the rest.”
He was aided by debutant Hasan Mahmud who finished with 3-28. Shakib praised the debutant, saying that the country is now blessed with so many good fast bowlers.
“There are quite a few good fast bowlers coming through the system. I played the previous T20 tournament, and I saw a lot of good fast bowlers bowl their heart out. I played with Hasan (Mahmud) in the same team, and it was good to see him come out and express himself,” he remarked.