Former Australian skipper Aaron Finch feels that Bangladesh will endure a massive blow if Shakib Al Hasan fails to recover from injury on time for their game against India on Thursday. The Bangladesh skipper sustained a quad injury when they played against New Zealand at the Chepauk.
During the game against Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan bowled his final ten overs before leaving the field for scans and handing the captaincy to Najmul Hossain Shanto. The Blackcaps eventually defeated Bangladesh for the second time in a row by scoring 246 runs in 42.5 overs and prior to their game against India, Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingh revealed that the management would be careful with the return of Shakib to the team.
Speaking on Star Sports, Aaron Finch believes that Shakib Al Hasan‘s absence from the team would be a big blow for the team in their marquee clash against India and feels that Bangladesh players need to bring their A-game to potentially win the game in Pune on Thursday.
“Yeah, that would be a huge blow (Shakib injury) if he’s not on their side, because the experience, the captaincy, that goes without saying,” Aaron Finch said.
“What do they need to do? Well, they need to do everything exceptionally well for somebody to have an absolute day out. I think with either bat or ball. They’ve got the skill there; I think that with their batting lineup, there’s just been a little bit too much shuffling around,” Aaron Finch added.
Bangladesh’s performance at the ODI World Cup has been dismal so far, as their victory against Afghanistan in the group stage has been the only noteworthy outing. Shakib Al Hasan-led side has lost their other two games to England and New Zealand in the marquee event in a convincing manner.
I’d Like To See Their Best Players Get Right Up To The Top – Aaron Finch
Aaron Finch urged the Bangladesh players to bring their top game against India and wants the middle-order batter to contribute to the team and put the pressure on the men in blue on Thursday.
“I’d like to see their best players get right up to the top. Really stack the high middle order there and let them take the pressure because you might get a better result than what we’ve seen so far at this time,” Aaron Finch concluded.
India holds the upper edge against Bangladesh after their historic victory at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad, back in 2007. However, the Tigers might take heart from their 2-1 series victory at home last season against an Indian team that was at full strength to put down an inspiring show in the ongoing ODI World Cup.
