Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan expressed concerns over the Tigers’ preparation for the upcoming tournament ICC T20 World Cup 2024, starting June 1 in the U.S. and Caribbean. Shakib said Bangladesh’s preparations for the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup are not ideal.
The former Bangladesh captain believes that they are not playing against top teams ahead of the mega ICC event and this will certainly have an impact on their performance in the US and the Caribbean. Currently, Bangladesh is preparing for the global event through a five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe.
Furthermore, the Bangladesh national cricket team is scheduled to face the USA in a three-match T20I series after the Zimbabwe series, and Shakib stressed that these matches do not provide his team with adequate preparation for the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup .
Our preparations for the T20 World Cup 2024 are not ideal: Shakib Al Hasan
In contrast, the previous edition of the T20 World Cup was in 2022 Bangladesh took part in a Tri-Nations series with New Zealand and Pakistan as part of their preparation. Well, Shakib said if the Tigers want to do well in the mega event, they need to win three games in the first round.
Shakib Al Hasan was quoted by Cricbuzz as saying: “It would be wrong if we think about the World Cup taking into account our performance against Zimbabwe and the USA. The World Cup will be held in a different location and the better we can handle pressure, the better chance we have of doing well.”
The experienced all-rounder said about the upcoming USA series: “A big reason to play against the USA is to get used to their conditions and get to know the place because there aren’t too many players who have played in the USA. Very few have the experience of playing there in Florida (2018) and we will get used to the conditions by playing in this series, but at the same time I would say this is not ideal (preparation-wise).”
Shakib further reflected on Bangladesh’s preparation for the T20 World Cup in 2022 and said Bangladesh have had valuable match practice against strong teams like New Zealand and Pakistan but this time they will play matches against Zimbabwe and USA and that is not so ideal .
Shakib wants DPL to be played in T20 format
Bangladesh is currently experiencing a heatwave and Shakib expressed concerns about the physical strain caused by taking part in 50-over matches in the Dhaka Premier League (DPL). Given the intense heat and the upcoming T20 World Cup, he suggested the idea of playing the DPL in T20 format.
According to him, playing the DPL in T20 format could be a better fit for the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup and provide valuable preparation for the national team. However, Bangladesh is yet to announce their provisional squad for the upcoming mega event.
Bangladesh are placed in Group D in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 alongside Sri Lanka, South Africa, Netherlands and Nepal. They will open their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against Sri Lanka on June 7 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.