Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan downplayed his team’s chances against India and believed that it would be an ‘upset’ if they beat the world’s number one ranked side in their ICC T20 World Cup Super 12 match in Adelaide today.
After securing full points against the Netherlands and Zimbabwe, the 35-year-old all-rounder believes that they don’t have much to lose in the upcoming games against India and Pakistan.
Our next target is to play well in the remaining two games. If we can win even one match from those, it would be an upset,’ said Shakib in the pre-match press conference in Adelaide on Tuesday.
‘We will be happy to cause that upset, but if we can’t, there won’t be much to say. On paper, both teams [India and Pakistan] are better than us. But if it is our day and we can play well, then why not? We have seen in this ongoing World Cup that Ireland beat England and Zimbabwe beat Pakistan. So yes, we will be happy to replicate something like that.’
The world’s number one all-rounder also didn’t want to believe that they were on par with their next opponent, India; instead, he considered India as the favourites to win the World Cup.
Recognising that beating India would be a huge upset, Shakib was looking forward to doing everything possible to cause that upset.
He also acknowledged their huge lack of experience compared to India in playing matches in Australia and wanted to get the best possible result while keeping that in mind.
‘I said it before, India are the favourites. They have come here to win the World Cup, which we didn’t. So, we are not the favourites for this match, and it will be an upset if we can manage a win. And we will look forward to making that upset happen.’
‘We are not equal here at all. Look at the number of Tests, ODI, or T20 matches India have played here. This condition is new for most of us, except for myself and Taskin. So, we will try to give our hundred percent in the field and get the best possible result,’ said Shakib.
Praising the bowling attack of India, Shakib emphasised doing well with the bat and scoring at least 160-70 in the match.
‘India have an excellent bowling attack. They are restricting their opponents to below 160 in every match. We will have to do really well with the bat and score around 160-70- at least to win the game,’ Shakib concluded.
