Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes believes star player Shakib Al Hasan has a point to prove in the upcoming 2019 World Cup after returning to the top of the ICC ODI rankings for all-rounders.
The 32-year-old has had to battle a spate of finger injuries over the past few months but looked in excellent form in the recently concluded ODI tri-series in Ireland which Bangladesh won.
The southpaw struck two half-centuries in the tournament before missing the final with a side strain. Giving a positive update on the player’s fitness, Rhodes feels that Shakib is going into the World Cup with an urge to prove himself worthy of the No1 all-rounder tag.
“Shakib is fine,” the Bangladesh coach was quoted as saying by the ICC.
“He’s in a great position physically. He had a little problem in Ireland but he’s got over that and is raring to go.
Shakib has nearly 6,000 runs and 249 ODI wickets so far.
“He’s looking forward to a wonderful tournament. I think he’s got a bit of a point to prove and he probably thinks that as well. He seems to have been a little bit forgotten but now he’s back as the world’s No. 1 all-rounder in ODI cricket – and that’s where we think he belongs.
There are plenty of experienced campaigners in the Bangladesh squad apart from Shakib with the likes of Mashrafe Mortaza, Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal in tow and Rhodes believes it will be a handy asset to have in the revamped format of the World Cup.
“People keep telling me that to win a world tournament you need experience,” Rhodes said.
“I’m glad because we’ve got a wealth of experience there.
“It will be a good thing when it gets a little tight towards the end of the group. There are 10 teams in this World Cup, but when I looked at the odds, we were ninth favourites and Afghanistan were tenth favourites – but on our day we both could beat the favourites.”
