Shakib al hasan is optimistic about his comeback in the match against south africa

Bangladesh’s ODI captain, Shakib Al Hasan, expressed confidence on Monday about securing a spot in the starting lineup for their crucial World Cup match against South Africa at the Wankhede Stadium. Shakib underwent a 25-minute batting session at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.

During the match against New Zealand, Shakib suffered a quad tear and despite making efforts, he was unable to participate when they faced India in Pune on October 19.

“I didn’t experience any negative sensations during my practice session yesterday,” Shakib informed reporters in Mumbai on the eve of the South Africa clash. “I’ll be training today, and if everything goes well, I’ll be fit.”

Shakib emphasized the significance of today’s fitness evaluation, stating, “Today’s fitness test will be crucial. I didn’t encounter any issues while batting yesterday, and I don’t anticipate any problems while batting today. I haven’t engaged in running yet, but if running doesn’t pose any problems, then I’m in good shape.”

Expressing his regret at missing a World Cup match for the first time, Shakib explained, “There was certainly some discomfort, and my condition wasn’t ideal. It was vital to determine whether playing that game would lead to missing the remaining matches or perhaps missing one or two games, similar to Taskin’s situation, and whether that would be beneficial.”

“We needed to make those decisions, and up to this point, I’m in good shape. I’m not experiencing any pain, and I feel physically fit. It’s just a matter of testing myself a bit,” he remarked.

Shakib mentioned that Bangladesh promoted Mehidy Hasan to the top-order due to his consistent runs, necessitating the adjustment of some other batters in the batting order.

“When Mehidy scored a century as an opener against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, we thought he should do it again in the World Cup. He performed well against England and Sri Lanka in practice matches and also scored runs against Afghanistan, so it’s essential to give a batter who’s in good form more opportunities,” Shakib explained.

He further noted, “Some of our established batters have been moved down the order, but there’s no guarantee they’ll perform better up the order. These are challenging and intricate decisions we must make. We still had chances to score 280-290 runs in all three matches.”

Shakib drew attention to the fact that despite South Africa’s strong current form, Bangladesh can draw inspiration from the Netherlands, who defeated South Africa in the group stage. South Africa is riding high on confidence after their impressive 229-run victory over the current champions, England, at the same venue three days ago.

“We have to take it one game at a time. The outcome of the last World Cup game, whether a win or a loss, doesn’t matter. What matters is who performs better on the day,” Shakib stressed. “We’ve observed South Africa’s strong performances and their loss to the Netherlands. They played brilliantly against England. Our preparation will follow our usual routine. We’ll strive to play our best cricket and see where that takes us.”

He added, “Success in this venue heavily depends on the bowlers. Bowlers can win matches for us, which is typically the case here. The first half of the game witnessed a high run rate in the previous match, but the ball performed well in the second half. South Africa is in a strong position with three wins out of four games. We have five matches left, so if we win tomorrow’s match, we’ll build considerable momentum.”

“Despite not winning many games, we’re not in a bad position in the points table. We still hold the dream of reaching the semi-finals,” Shakib concluded.