"Would've batted first.." Shakib Al Hasan pins blame on captain Shanto's decision at toss for loss vs India

Shakib Al Hasan picked one wicket and scored only 11 runs against India in the Super 8 clash on June 22.

Former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has blamed current captain Najmul Shanto Hossain and coach’s decision at toss for the loss against the Rohit Sharma-led team India in the Super 8 (Group 1) clash at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua on June 22 in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

During the match against India, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hasan Shanto won the toss and decided to field first. However, his decision backfired as Men in Blue posted 196/5 in 20 overs. India vice-captain Hardik Pandya notched up a fantastic unbeaten half-century.

While chasing, Bangladesh captain Shanto scored 40 runs while the rest of the batters failed to deliver as they lost the match by 50 runs. For India, Kuldeep Yadav scalped three wickets, whereas speedsters Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh bagged two wickets each.

Maybe the captain and coach thought otherwise: Shakib Al Hasan

The West Indies surfaces have been on the slower side in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. Most teams are batting first and putting runs on the board as while defending, the pitch becomes more spin-friendly.

During the match between both sides, it was relevant to see that Bangladesh skipper Shanto’s decision to field first was a big blunder against the Men in Blue as they reached the 190-run mark.

During the second innings, Indian bowlers got more help from the Antigua pitch as they defeated Bangladesh easily. It is to be noted that during the toss, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma expressed that he would bat first.

After suffering the loss against India, veteran all-rounder Shakib has blamed the Bangladesh skipper and management for choosing bowling first. Shakib added that he would have batted first.

“Personally if you ask me in the Caribbean it’s one or two games – when England chased that 180. Other than that batting first has been the trend for most of the teams, and they have been very successful. So, if you look at the stats, ideally you would have batted first, but maybe the captain and coach thought otherwise,” said Shakib in the post-match press conference.

“No, I don’t have any part or role in this. These are not the issues of experience or seniority. When there is a leader, a captain, it’s his decision. If we would do well, the credit would go to the captain. If we did badly, we question the decision of the coach and captain. It’s normal. It seems very reasonable to me,”

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