Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag has slammed Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al-Hasan for his poor form at the ongoing T20 World Cup. Sehwag suggested Shakib had overstayed his welcome in the shortest format of the game and that he should come forward and announce retirement.
The Indian opener ripped into Shakib after the all-rounder could not engineer a 114-run chase against South Africa, despite coming in to bat at no. 4.
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“During the last World Cup, I thought he should no longer be picked for the T20 format. Time for retirement came a long time ago. You are such a senior player, you were the captain of this team. You should actually be ashamed of your recent numbers. You should come forward and announce yourself that enough is enough, I’m retiring from this format,” said Sehwag on Cricbuzz.
The verbal onslaught continued from Sehwag who said Shakib was a Bangladeshi player and that he did not need to emulate the Australian greats such as Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden.
“If you are picked in the World Cup squad for your experience, then show that it was actually worth it. You need to spend some time at the crease at least. You are not Adam Gilchrist or Mathew Hayden. Hooks and pulls are not your strengths. You are a Bangladeshi player. You play according to your strength,” he added.
Tough task for Bangladesh
Bangladesh are still in contention of making it to the Super 8 stage of the tournament, having won the first match against Sri Lanka. However, the team has looked far from convincing and Shakib’s form has been a major part of the poor performances.
In the opener against Sri Lanka, Shakib only managed eight off 14 deliveries while against the Proteas, Anrich Nortje troubled him with his express pace.
With matches against Netherlands and Nepal upcoming, Shakib and Bangladesh will have to bring their A-game to secure qualification. Despite being a regular at the big-boys table for the last decade, Bangladesh’s performance in the ICC tournaments has been nothing to write home about.
Bangladesh squad for T20 World Cup
Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Travelling reserves: Afif Hossain, Hasan Mahmud
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