Shakib Al Hasan Reveals The Batting Position Where He Wants To Bat In ODI Cricket
May 11, 2019 at 11:42 AM
While the Bangladesh national cricket team is busy in their final preparation for the upcoming Cricket World Cup, senior all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has wished to bat at no.3 position in ODI cricket.
The 32-year-old all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is the second most ODI run-scorer for Bangladesh. The left-handed middle-order batsman has scored 5,638 runs in 184 ODI innings with an average of 35.45.
Shakib most commonly bats at no.5 position in ODI cricket. At no.5 batting position, he has scored 3,852 runs in 125 innings with an average of 35.33 and strike-rate of 83.93. He scored five centuries and 30 half-centuries at this batting position.
Shakib Al Hasan has wished to bat at no.3 in ODI cricket and also revealed the reason
However, he has recently wished to bat at no.3 position in the present ODI cricket. Talking about this desire, Shakib has clarified that he is not getting enough time to bat at the no.5 position due to the stronger top-order batting performances. Shakib has already expressed this desire to his national team, but he has no problem to bat at any position for the national team.
According to the icc-cricket.com, Shakib recently quoted, “There was a time when I had to come on to the crease before the first 10 overs even if I batted at No.5. But now things have changed, I don’t get a chance to bat before 35-40 overs if I bat at the No.5 position,”
“For me, I think, the earlier the better. So, personally speaking, I want to play at No.3. I have also expressed my desire to the coach and the captain. But I don’t have any problem to play anywhere for the team.”
Shakib has batted at no.3 position in 13 ODI innings where he has scored 492 runs with an average of 41.00. The left-handed batsman has scored five half-centuries at this position, and his highest score at this position is 97 runs.
Since January 2018, Shakib has batted at the no.3 position for most times for Bangladesh ODI side. While Soumya Sarkar is in the second position in this list with five ODI innings at this position, Shakib has played 11 ODI innings at this position since 2018.
Here are Shakib Al Hasan’s ODI performances at different batting positions
Batting positions | Innings | Runs scored | Highest score | Average | Strike-rate | 100s/50s |
3rd | 13 | 492 | 97 | 41.00 | 80.78 | 0/5 |
4th | 30 | 959 | 134* | 41.69 | 78.22 | 2/4 |
5th | 125 | 3,852 | 114 | 35.33 | 83.93 | 5/30 |
6th | 14 | 315 | 79 | 22.50 | 68.77 | 0/2 |
7th | 2 | 20 | 15 | 20.00 | 47.61 | 0/0 |
Shakib Al Hasan also spoke about his fitness issues
Since early 2018, Shakib Al Hasan constantly fought with his fitness issues. However, at present, he is fitter and ready for the upcoming Cricket World Cup.
Talking about his fitness, Shakib said, “Sometimes in your life, you need a kick. I have got the kick. I won’t say how. That’s a secret. It has come in a way that has awakened me. I was fit up to 2011. After that, I didn’t get much chance to work on my fitness and I didn’t feel any push too. But I have got the kick now.”
Bangladesh national cricket team has directly qualified for the upcoming 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. While England and Wales are ready to host this ten-team tournament from 30th May to 14th July, Bangladesh will begin their journey on 2nd June when they will face South Africa at The Oval (London).
Ahead of their World Cup campaign, Bangladesh is currently busy in the ODI tri-series in Ireland where Bangladesh and Windies are participating along with the host side Ireland.