Bangladesh beat Netherlands by 25 runs in match 27 of the ongoing T20 World Cup, being held in the West Indies and USA, on Thursday (June 13). Locking horns at the Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, St Vincent, the Bangla Tigers posted 159 for 5 courtesy of Shakib Al Hasan’s 64 not out and later rode on Rishad Hossain’s three-fer and Taskin Ahmed’s 2 for 30 to restrict the Dutch for 134 for 8 to boost their Super 8 chances. Following the win, veteran all-rounder Shakib opened up on former Indian opener Virender Sehwag’s criticism, who questioned his place in the T20I side, and gave a befitting reply.

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Sehwag questioned Shakib’s place in Bangladesh’s T20I side owing to his poor run of form with both bat and ball before his match-winning half-century versus the Dutch. In 2024, the 37-year-old had just scored 69 runs in six T20I innings — before the Netherlands clash — at an average of 11.50. Even with the ball, he scalped just six wickets from eight innings at 30.50. However, Shakib contributed in both the departments during the Netherlands clash. Hence, he reacted to Sehwag’s comments and said his job was not to answer questions but to perform for the team. 

In the post-match presser, Shakib said, “A player never comes to answer any questions. A player’s job is to bat for the team if he’s a batsman and contributes to the team. If he is a bowler, his job is to bowl well. The wicket is about luck. If he is a fielder, he should save each run and take as many catches as he can. Here, actually, there’s nothing to answer for anyone. I think it is important for a current player how much he can contribute to his team. When he can’t contribute, then naturally there would be discussions and I don’t think it is a bad thing.”

Shakib added, “I have never been worried about my performance. I don’t think that I ever had that thought in my career. I feel good If I can contribute to the team. As I said, maybe today is my day, but maybe someone else’s day will come in the next match.”

Following a win over the Dutch, Bangladesh have kept their hopes alive of entering the Super 8s from Group D, along with South Africa (who have already qualified). The Asian side has 4 points from three games with a net run rate of +0.478.

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