ICC World Cup 2019: Shakib Al Hasan Reveals His Recent Success Mantra

Bangladesh have registered an emphatic win over West Indies in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2019 where Shakib Al Hasan‘s blistering 124* and Liton Das’s unbeaten 94 made the winning foundation. However, this is not the first time for Shakib as he has been doing this since long for his side. He has been in a formidable form as he has now scored back-to-back centuries.

“To stay at the wicket till the end and finish it off was the most satisfying thing. I have been working on batting for the last one and a half months and it has paid off,” Shakib told at the post-match presentation.

“I feel I don’t have take further load because I am prepared to handle any situation after working so hard, coming this far and this provides me strength at the back of my mind. Mindset is very important. At this level, conditions and environment is very crucial your mental ability. When your fitness is good it helps you a lot. But ultimately mental strength or how strong you can be [the difference] in tough situations and your bravery. I think these things help in you both in batting and bowling,” shared he.

The number 1 all-rounder in ICC ranking, is currently the highest run-getter in the ongoing World Cup, with 384 runs while Australia’s Aaron Finch is in second place with 343 runs.

“I thought if I batted at 3 I will get more opportunities and more time in the middle. If I bat at 5, I will get in at the 30th over or something and that’s not ideal for me honestly.”

Shakib took 2 wickets against the West Indies who put up a total of 322.

“At the end of the first innings, we believed that if we bat well we can win. It was a reasonable total posted by the West Indies. Mehidy contributed with the ball and as did I,” shared Shakib.

However, he gave the credit to the team management for keeping them calm in the dressing room which helps them to perform well in the tournament.

“I will say it’s a whole new level [for us],” Shakib said after their seven-wicket win on June 18. “I personally think those matches in Ireland helped us a lot. Because we won every match chasing there and at no point it seemed that we are batting under pressure and we have to play big strokes.”

“Yes, everybody played big shots but we played cricketing shots, which big teams normally do. I think our coaching staff deserves much credit. Because what used to happen earlier is that we used to panic in the dressing room. It was a big problem. The good thing that happens now is that, our coaching staff remained so calm that [there was] no chance to panic. It’s contagious, it happens naturally. When someone panics another one starts to panic too. They are trying to push this in our dressing room and I think it’s a big reason behind us chasing in this manner,” he further added.

“The battle is with yourself. When someone losses to himself then his chance of winning becomes low. When someone says from his heart that he wants to win, then maybe he won’t win all the time but there is a possibility that he will win most of the times,” he expressed.

Bangladesh will lock horns with the defending champions Australia in their next clash on June 20 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham and that won’t be easy for them to win.

“We have to bring our A-game against Australia at the top of their form. I hope the fans will keep supporting us and they have been magnificent throughout the World Cup,” added Shakib.