Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan believes that the T20 victory over Afghanistan will act as a huge confident booster for the team going into the Asia Cup 2023. Bangladesh secured a thumping win over Afghanistan in the 2nd T20 game on Sunday.
Bangladesh has emerged as one of the better white ball teams in world cricket as the teams played quality cricket in the mega ODI event. They will look to utilize their experience to do well in the sub-continental conditions in the Asia Cup 2023 and ODI World Cup 2023 later this year.
Speaking to the media after the series victory over Afghanistan, Shakib Al Hasan said that most of the T20 players in Bangladesh team will be part of the ODI team in the Asia Cup, as this series victory will add confidence to his team going forward and added that even though the both are different formats they adapt to ODI formats to do well for the team.
“From here (T20 squad) around 80 to 90 per cent of cricketers will play in the ODIs and this is a huge confidence boost for us ahead of the Asia Cup,” Shakib Al Hasan said.
“If there is flexibility it is good for the team. In T20s, a number seven might have to do the same job that openers have to do. If the openers bat for 15 overs he might have to play the next five overs as well.
“If everyone can bat everywhere, they won’t find it difficult to adapt when facing a tough situation. The same goes for the bowlers when they bowl in different situations,” Shakib Al Hasan added.
The team has experienced players in the lineup with the likes of Litton Das, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mahmudullah in the team, as they will look to use their experience to do well in the forthcoming ODI events.
We Are Seeing A Healthy Competition Among Pacers And Spinners – Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib Al Hasan believes that the team has got five to six bowlers in the team, which offers the perfect balance to the team, and reckons that the team has got healthy competition among the players to get into the playing 11 which is very good for the team in the future.
“The five or six bowlers we have… our job is to make things easy for batters and we always try that. Now with the combination we have, we are seeing a healthy competition among pacers and spinners and this is a good thing for the team,” Shakib Al Hasan added.
The Bangladesh team is expected to be underdogs going into the tournament as the team has got some quality players on the side, with their experience can come in handy in Asian conditions.