23 October - Mumbai - Bangladesh Captain Shakib Al Hassan pre-match press conference
[Reporter:]
Taking on South Africa which is coming back from a huge win, whereas you coming from after [defeat] to India what would be the approach you know what is the mindset of the team and what is it that you are going to tell your boys?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
Well, we have to take one game at a time you know it in a World Cup it doesn't matter whether you won your last game or you lost your last game. What matters is on the day who is performing better. We saw South Africa flying high, we saw they lost against the Netherlands as well. They played brilliantly against England. That does mean that this thing does happen in cricket, especially in the World Cup. So, we will prepare the way we want to prepare ourselves. So, we want to play our best cricket and then we will see where we are.
[Reporter:]
How fit are you and is Taskin Ahmed fit to play tomorrow?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
Taskin he is not available for tomorrow’s game, but hopefully he will be available after tomorrow’s game. He has some shoulder issues that he is suffering for last two games, so physio has decided that if he takes rest for 2 games then hopefully, he’ll be okay for the last 4 games which are important for us and Taskin is an important part of this team, so we don’t want to lose him in the middle of the tournament, and we don’t have much to replace him.
So better to give him rest and hopefully he can play 4 games.
And about my situation – I felt nothing at all when I was training yesterday and hopefully will be able to get through today’s session also without any pain.
[Reporter:]
Not a lot of Bangladesh players have played in Mumbai before, you yourself played in Mumbai in 2018 in the last IPL. So, do you think your experience in the IPL in Mumbai will help your team or its irrelevant now 5 years back?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
I don’t think it’s that relevant at this moment, looking at last game, it was completely two different sides we saw. You know, day time there was a lot of runs, at night time, bowlers are getting a lot of help. So, I don't think it's relevant that much, but yes, given the fact that I played IPL, it will obviously give me some sort of idea. But it won't have any, I won't say any effect, much effect on the game. But we obviously saw the last match. The whole team watched it. So, they'll have pretty good idea and plan for every individual how they want to go about it.
[Reporter:]
I don't know if you are aware of the passing away of Bishan Singh Bedi, former India
captain and you being a left armer. I don't know if you are also aware of the fact that you, Bishan Singh Bedi, and Dilip Joshi took 100 wickets in 28 Tests, some of the fewer Test matches to this milestone which has been surpassed since. Did you ever interact with Bishan Bedi and if at all, yes, what was been your chat with him?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
No, I don't think I ever met him or had an interaction with him, no. But I would love to meet him. Oh, sorry. Oh, he passed away, sorry.
[Reporter:]
Not talking about tomorrow’s match but the overall World Cup, can you explain what is it from a player's point of view to be in the world of Bangladesh cricket? There are a lot of emotions. I don't know how the pressure is, and how do you deal with expectations and stuff like that.
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
I think it is exciting. I can only tell what I feel. It's hard for me to tell what every other individual feels. But I think for me, it's very exciting. I know I am playing my fifth World Cup, but I still have the same interest, same ambition, same sort of fight in me to play for Bangladesh and to perform for Bangladesh. And till now I'm enjoying and hopefully I can finish this World Cup on a good note.
[Reporter:]
Shakib, first of all, I want to ask two things, one is about your fitness update, and already 4 matches have been played in the World Cup campaign, now with South Africa. Till now, how did you see the performance of the Bangladesh team, especially in the batting and what is the team doing to improve a bit from this position?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
The fitness update is, that when I did the training yesterday, I didn't feel any problem. I didn't feel anything negative. I will do the training also today. Hopefully, if everything goes well, then I will be fit (if Allah wills it). [inaudible]
Since we have five more matches, so, if I had to give my opinion, then it'll be good to give it at the end of the tournament, it's not to comment halfway as we still have five important matches. So, when the game is over, I will be able to comment on this.
[Reporter:]
Shakib, the expectation we had on our bowling side in this World Cup, I mean, we won a lot of matches playing as a bowling unit, and from that angle, we are not getting our expected support in this World Cup. Do you think tomorrow we can get such support and there will be an outstanding performance?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
We are playing at a place where the chances of winning are very thin actually if the bowlers don't perform. It's such a place where the bowlers can make the team win. Most of the time it happens like this here. As we have seen in the last match there were a lot of runs, in the first half, and in the second half, their bowlers bowled well. So, naturally, we have to play very good cricket. I think, South Africa won three out of their four matches. So, naturally, they are in a very good condition. But as I told you earlier it doesn't mean that everything is over. Since we still have five more matches, tomorrow's match is definitely an important match. If we can win here, we'll get back our momentum and we'll come in a very good position. Although we didn't win many matches, if you look at the points table, we are truly not in a very bad situation. So, other teams are helping us. Now, it's our duty, we have to help ourselves and go to a better position.
[Reporter:]
Shakib, nice to see you. I have two questions. One is after winning in the first match, you lost in three consecutive matches, you didn't play in a match because of fitness. So, how difficult it is to motivate the team this time as a captain. The team is losing and you're not taking part. the second one is about Miraz. We didn't get you in this World Cup. We have seen Miraz at numbers 3 and 4. For this reason, our on-paper better batsmen are going down on the lower order a bit, we are discussing this. What is your opinion on this?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
What was the first one?
[Reporter:]
How difficult it is as a captain that you lost three consecutive matches and you also couldn't play?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
Not being able to play is a great pity for me. It's the first time that I missed a match in the ODI World Cup. So, it was a great pity for me. I think no player would want to miss any match, so, it was hard for me to miss the match. For motivation, actually, I don't think the team needs to get motivated after coming to a stage like the World Cup. Here everyone is motivated and everyone is trying from their own places. Maybe we couldn't do well collectively but our individual performances are good, I would say. Some of us did already but if these were a bit better we could bring better results collectively. [inaudible]
The reason behind elevating Miraz's position was when scored 100 against Afghanistan in the opening, from then we had this in the plan that he'll bat on the top order again against Afghanistan. In between when we had a practice match against England or against Sri Lanka, he batted well in both games. Naturally, when he batted well against Afghanistan when a batsman is in his form, you'll try to give him chances as much as you can, so, from that perspective, we used him in the top-order batting. Another thing is that, on paper those who are our good batsmen, they batted lately, we're thinking like this. I also think that they're playing in a bit later order but if we think this other way, if they come in the top, can anyone guarantee that they will score runs? If they cannot, then what you'll say? Then it would seem that they were better in the previous place.
So, these are actually very difficult and tricky. We had to take the decision. Sometimes it works some it doesn't. But what you've said even if we shifted them in the lower order, I think despite that we had a chance in every match to score 280-290 whether it was the England match, India match, New Zealand match. If you look at all three matches, there were no batsmen except Riyad ultimately who played till the end. So, I don't think you can criticize too much about this. And Riyad is doing very well with the responsibility that was given to him. So, we are happy for this. We have moved him up/in the top order. When he comes out of his role, and if he cannot perform then we will feel bad and he'll feel bad as well and you guys will criticize that.
[Reporter:]
Some players play although they're not 100% fit, like they are 98-99% fit. In your case, if you're not 100% fit, or a little less fit then would you play? Another question is there are many big scores in this World Cup, like 428, 399, and so on. But Bangladesh couldn't score more than 256. So, what are your lackings in making big scores, and how much you are thinking about this?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
I just forgot the first question. It's a bit difficult for me if you ask two questions.
[Reporter:]
Okay, the first question is that many players play even if they're not 100% fit.
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
What is that little bit lacking?
[Reporter:]
99% fit or something like that. So, would you play even if you're not 100% fit?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
What is the parameter of fitness?
[Reporter:]
That you people could say. We don't know, we're just asking.
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
You are here to ask?
[Reporter:]
Yes, definitely. We have seen many players who are 99% fit, they're saying in quote-unquote, they're 99% fit, there's a little lacking, but will play, but they are in a state of playing. So it happens. Many people also say that we are talking about 100% fit. You are a sportsman, you can say about that.
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
No, what can I say? I have already answered that in the previous question that I did not feel any pain the day before. If I don't feel any pain today, I'm fit to play.
[Reporter:]
The question about batting, as I said that there are big scores but Bangladesh is not able to do that. It's still not able to score more than 250 runs. Where is the lacking and how much concerned are you?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
Yes, it would be good if we could score big, we're trying to score big. So, please pray that we can make big scores.
[Reporter:]
I have two small questions. One is about the weather in Mumbai, are you concerned about this? We have seen it's too hot. And the second is, before leaving the country, We had a lot of dreams of winning the World Cup, that we would at least make it to the top 4. What do you think now?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
There are still possibilities. Like I said, if we don't make it, others are helping us. So if that keeps happening, and we can help ourselves, then the dream can come true. We still have a chance. If you look at it on paper, we still have a good chance. So, don't be hopeless so soon. Maybe you will be disappointed when it's over. No problem. And about the weather, yes, this is a bit of a concern for everyone. We are trying to take more rest and stay hydrated. We are trying to take care of ourselves so that our field performances don't get hampered. We have seen in the last match that England and South Africa, both teams suffered. So. it won't be easy for us either. Although we are used to playing in hot weather, the condition is a little difficult. So, this actually, will keep weak both teams equally on one side. You can say but it's actually the same situation for both teams.
[Reporter:]
As you said, after scoring a century in the Asia Cup, you planned that Miraz would be playing in the top order in the World Cup against Afghanistan. After the World Cup team was announced, or after leaving the country, we used to hear that someone from the board or the team management informed Tamim Iqbal not to play in the match against Afghanistan, or to play in the lower order. Are the two things related? Or did you take this decision for this reason?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
This was our plan, mine and the coach's plan was this, and it is still there. From now on, if we have a match against Afghanistan, Miraz will bat in the top order. We think like this. We all know that he has faced Mujeeb and Rashid well who are a big threat to us. So, from that point of view, it is very natural for Miraz to bat in the top order. It was definitely in our plan.
[Reporter:]
Why Tamim was removed or asked to play in the lower order?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
What is this about?
[Reporter:]
As this was circulated, I mean, the story that has been widely circulated. Tamim will not play in the Afghanistan match or he'll be playing in the lower order.
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
What will I say about this? What is the question?
[Reporter:]
What is the relation with that? I mean, how is it related to that?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
Suppose it is related to it. What should I answer to this?
[Reporter:]
I mean, did the message go from you or not?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
You want to know who actually told him this? I didn't say this and I don't know about it.
[Reporter:]
Shakib, you said about Mahmudullah. Ultimately, we have seen that those who are experienced cricketers like Mushfiq, and although you couldn't do well in batting, gave a breakthrough in bowling and got wickets in every match. But on those who you had faith in, or those who we thought would do good, ultimately they are not able to play so far. Does this hurt you? So, how is the team management motivating them, or how do you motivate them? How do you motivate them?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
See, we had planned to play 9 matches minimum or we will play 11 matches if possible. Actually we didn't plan for 4 matches. We know that a player will not play all the matches well. But if that player starts scoring runs or doing well, if he's scoring in the next 5 matches, if you divide with that then overall performance will be good. So, I think it is not right to comment on this. I hope we will do better in the future team-wise. We have many places where we can do good which we should have done maybe. We didn't get those done in the previous matches. That doesn't mean we won't be able to do it in the next matches.
[Reporter:]
Shakib, you said that the heat will weaken both teams. What is the problem with the heat? You have struggled a lot during the practice yesterday. Where is the problem? This is the first question and the second question is that the pace unit was doing good before coming in the World Cup. Is the pace unit able to bowl as per your expectations in the World Cup?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
If you think about the four matches, yes, they couldn't do it like that. They couldn't bowl well as a partnership in that way. If you look at the figure, it's not looking that good in the end. But I am not that much disappointed because I feel that they have bowled well for a long time. Maybe we were a bit unlucky and we couldn't be that successful. But for that, maybe we need to perform at another level so that our pace bowlers do well. Not just pace bowlers, but we can all perform better collectively.
[Reporter:]
About the heat. What problems you are facing in the hot weather?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
In hot weather, the humidity is so high that you sweat a lot. You get dehydrated. The more you drink water, you get tired. This is the main problem. You may get cramped or you can get a tiring short. I think this will make both teams suffer. But those who will handle this well will have the upper hand.
[Reporter:]
Captain, South Africa has chased 15 matches, if I am not mistaken, they have lost 10 matches. In this World Cup, the three matches they have batted first, 428, 399, 311 and they have chased one match and they have lost in that match.
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
Pray so that we win the toss tomorrow.
[Reporter:]
It is seen that wrist spinners or….[inaudible] have struggled against them. Definitely, you have a game plan. In that game plan, how much impact will these things have on the game plan?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
The spinners could have played a bigger role if the pitch [match] was not here. The spinners could have played a bigger role if the pitch [match] was not here. But if it was in another venue like Chennai, they could have played more effectively. But here the ground is small, the ball travels a lot, and there are a lot of boundaries, it's a high-scoring ground. So, there won't be much help from the spinners. We are planning to restrict them to fewer runs. As we have seen, the Netherlands was able to restrict them successfully. We will try to take some new things from there. We do not plan after seeing only a match. In the last one and a half years, we will plan for their weak points. We do have a plan, but it is not always successful. Hopefully, our plans will be successful and we will have a good day tomorrow.
[Reporter:]
Shakib, you said that if you want to win this match, the bowlers need to play a big role in this ground. Again, you also said that it is difficult to do anything big for the spinners, especially if the ground is small. Also, your paces are not in good rhythm. In which place do you think our bowlers can make this match a win?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
The bowlers have played well. It is not important whether they are in good rhythm or not. It is important to play well in tomorrow's match. If we all play well, bat well, and field well, definitely we can do something good. We have the capability to do that. We believe that if we can play good cricket, we are capable of winning with any team.
[Reporter:]
About your injury, we saw you had a long batting session before the last match. You couldn't play finally. Now you have had a long batting session here. Will it finally depend on whether you are bowling today or not? Or how much you're able to do running between wickets? Will it depend on that?
[Shakib Al Hasan:]
Yes. Today's fitness test plus batting, there was no problem with that yesterday. I don't think there will be any problem today. I didn't run, I will run and see. If there is no problem in running, then everything is good. [inaudible]
Yes, it was a little uncomfortable. I will not say that 100% I feel good. Plus, it was important that I might miss the remaining 5 matches if I was playing in that match. Or it would be good if I take a rest for 1-2 matches like Taskin? So we have taken these decisions but I am in good condition now. I don't feel any pain and I am not feeling anything bad, I am feeling good physically. Now I just need to test myself.