“Bat according to your standards”: Sehwag shoes mirror to Shakib Al Hasan after dismal batting against South Africa
Former India opener Virender Sehwag condemned Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for his poor outing in the T20 World Cup match against South Africa. Batting in the run chase, Shakib managed only three runs as Bangladesh fell short by four runs in their defeat in New York on Monday, June 10.
Over the past six months, Shakib faced numerous challenges. He withdrew from the latter stages of the ODI World Cup 2023 due to injury, stepped down as captain, and battled an eye condition, before returning to the national team in the home series against Zimbabwe.
Sehwag believed that as a senior member of the team, Shakib should have taken on a more prominent role in the run chase. However, the left-handed batter was dismissed off the fourth delivery of his innings, falling victim to a fiery short ball from Anrich Nortje in the eighth over as he attempted a pull shot.
“While his inclusion could only be for the sake of experience, we just did not see that on the field. At the very least, you should have spent some time at the crease. You’re not Hayden or Gilchrist, who can pull short deliveries. Bat according to your standards, focus on the strokes you know you can play effectively,” remarked Sehwag on Cricbuzz.
Shakib Al Hasan’s batting performance has been underwhelming in the T20 format for some time, including a dismal campaign in the recent Bangladesh Premier League. His international cricket numbers over the past four years (2021-2024) reflect this dip, with batting averages of 19, 24, 46, and 11 across 45 innings.
“Shakib’s performance in the last T20 World Cup signaled his end in the shortest format. Despite his lengthy tenure as captain and senior status, his poor numbers in that tournament should have left him feeling ashamed,” he continued.
Despite being a key player for Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan struggled to make an impact at the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups, scoring just 131 and 44 runs respectively, even while batting in the top or early middle order
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