‘Need to play teams like India to improve’ : Shakib Al Hasan

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Conversations with Shakib Al Hasan can be a little unnerving. At times, one has to strive to remember the Bangladesh captain is still some days shy of celebrating his 22nd birthday. Such is his focus and scope of vision that he almost comes across as a veteran, not a stripling playing in his 16th Test match. More... ‘Need to play teams like India to improve’ RAHUL BANERJI Dhaka Jan. 24: Conversations with Shakib Al Hasan can be a little unnerving. At times, one has to strive to remember the Bangladesh captain is still some days shy of celebrating his 22nd birthday. Such is his focus and scope of vision that he almost comes across as a veteran, not a stripling playing in his 16th Test match. Speaking exclusively to this correspondent in a wide-ranging interaction ahead of the second Test at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium here, Shakib made some telling points. Pushed into the job with regular skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza sidelined by injury, the all-rounder has made his mark as a leader, but feels much, much more remains to be done. Yet, there is no shortage of confidence in the gritty left-hander. "We may not be getting the results we want against the big teams, but this is the only road to go. This is also the right time for us. "Bangladesh are a young side and our way forward lies in playing the top sides on a regular basis. This series (against India) may not provide us with the kind of results we would like, but if we want to move forward we have to be able to learn by playing them as often as we can." He is also brutally honest about himself, and his side’s abilities. "We are too inexperienced as a unit. We did have good results in Zimbabwe (winning an ODI series) and the West Indies (taking both Test and ODI series by comfortable margins) but these were teams going through problems themselves. "In that sense, playing India will teach us a lot more. We just don’t play enough long-duration cricket. "As a one-day squad we are developing well, but when it comes to Test cricket, it is another matter. The hardest part of cricket is batting and we have to understand that it is not enough to get going in innings. It is crucial to build. "That is where playing experienced teams becomes so important for us, learning to handle the pressure of building innings on a consistent basis." Shakib, currently the world’s top-ranked all-rounder in limited overs cricket, made his Test debut at Chittagong in May, 2007 against India, the only match the Tigers have managed to draw against their western neighbours. Clearly, the auspicious start kicked off something in the young man, who also bowls very effective left-arm spin alongside his work with the bat. "I have always believed in myself. I know what are the areas to work on to improve my game. The thing with Test cricket is that it throws up new challenges and problems with almost each match you play, and learning to adapt is a big part of a player’s development," he says confidently. "As an ODI unit we are developing well and will be a good team by the time the 2011 World Cup comes around. In Test cricket, though, it is a different story." Having garnered 2,160 runs in 28 innings with a top score of 96 not out at a so-so average of 28.80 so far, Shakib feels he is on the right track. "You have to remember I have played just 15 Test matches. (Coach) Jamie Siddons has been a big help, but a player has to understand and assess himself how best to work on his game. "As a captain, it is not that I talk all the time to my team-mates. Sometimes it is better to lead by example — create a positive attitude. That is my idea. The day the team understand it is necessary for 3-4 of them to deliver, we will start to get better results. "It helps that we are a young side. Exchanging and sharing ideas with them becomes a little easier because of their youth." Sift those words and you sense a deep understanding of what trips the Tigers up so often, and a peep into the soul of a man in a hurry to change that.

[Zap_Brannigan]

Yes.......they should lose 50 more test and bore the **** out of other teams just to gain experience..

[cowboysfan]

i agree with shakib but in the present day cricket calender there is no place for such one sided test cricket.

[Karan114]

He keeps saying that the ODI squad is developing but Tests are a different matter...but have they really developed in ODI cricket? Since their much hyped 2007 World Cup (in which it is conveniently forgotten that, in addition to beating India and SA, they also lost to Ireland) they have won just two ODIs against good teams. They are a bad Test and ODI side, not just a bad Test side.

[Texan]

Shakib should remain the full-time captain of BD.

[Desi Cartman]

Why cant they play against top domestic teams from SAF , Ind , Aus and Eng first and once they start winning some matches against them then they can play the top international sides. They are not learning anything IMO in fact their confidence is getting dinted by these defeats :orderorder:

[Zap_Brannigan]

Why cant they play against top domestic teams from SAF ' date=' Ind , Aus and Eng first and once they start winning some matches against them then they can play the top international sides. They are not learning anything IMO in fact their confidence is getting dinted by these defeats :orderorder:[/quote'] Now they have an excuse that they are losing only to International teams. Who will they blame when they lose to domestic teams? IIRC, India invited them once and they lost all their games to Indian zonal sides. They never came back after that.

[kabira]

their problem is their mindset. All they keep saying is they are here to learn blah blah blah. Except Sakib and couple of other players, majority is there to fill up the numbers. If all 11 play to win, they will win more games.

[yoda]

you guys are just being too harsh. in every league there will be always be minnows. it is not like all our players are all scoring 300s against their bowling. yes their batting sucks and they could use some temperament coaching in that area.

[vvvslaxman]

Test cricket requires performance over multiple sessions. These guys have attention span of a 5 year old kid. They are good for one dayers and T20. Even there their overall record is abysmal. Bangladesh has lost 34 out of 39 ODIs since 2007 world cup to top 8 teams. 3 of the wins came against the Z grade west Indies. When they are not even good in short format how are they going to be in long formats.

[Ram]

I dont know why everyone is so eager to knock B'desh and its players down. Is it some sort of compulsive/involuntary thing that arises from the arrogance of being the fans of the no.1 ranked team? Yea, they're arent that good, so what? Have you forgotten those times when we were quite mediocre ourselves? You dont have to look too far back in time to relive those memories. We'll probably beat them by an innings in this test match, but hey, we beat Lanka by an innings TWICE less than 3 fortnights ago. Does that make Lanka a pathetic side too? These guy ran us close in the first test. If only they had seized on a couple of vital moments at Chittagong (The Rahim dismissal in the first innings when they were 201-6), things could have been much different. I'd still wont go to the extent of saying that had an even outside chance of winning that test, but it could have much closer than it was in the end. For the first time in the history of their cricket, they have at least a semblance of a pace attack. Couple of their batsmen look extremely promising, in addition to a world class all-rounder in Shakib. This is by far the most competitive B'deshi side I have seen play against India. Sure, the results might not be that different to the past, but in cricket, results are not always indicative of the way the respective teams played.

[kooljatt]

Conversations with Shakib Al Hasan can be a little unnerving. At times, one has to strive to remember the Bangladesh captain is still some days shy of celebrating his 22nd birthday. Such is his focus and scope of vision that he almost comes across as a veteran, not a stripling playing in his 16th Test match. More... ‘Need to play teams like India to improve’ RAHUL BANERJI Dhaka Jan. 24: Conversations with Shakib Al Hasan can be a little unnerving. At times, one has to strive to remember the Bangladesh captain is still some days shy of celebrating his 22nd birthday. Such is his focus and scope of vision that he almost comes across as a veteran, not a stripling playing in his 16th Test match. Speaking exclusively to this correspondent in a wide-ranging interaction ahead of the second Test at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium here, Shakib made some telling points. Pushed into the job with regular skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza sidelined by injury, the all-rounder has made his mark as a leader, but feels much, much more remains to be done. Yet, there is no shortage of confidence in the gritty left-hander. "We may not be getting the results we want against the big teams, but this is the only road to go. This is also the right time for us. "Bangladesh are a young side and our way forward lies in playing the top sides on a regular basis. This series (against India) may not provide us with the kind of results we would like, but if we want to move forward we have to be able to learn by playing them as often as we can." He is also brutally honest about himself, and his side’s abilities. "We are too inexperienced as a unit. We did have good results in Zimbabwe (winning an ODI series) and the West Indies (taking both Test and ODI series by comfortable margins) but these were teams going through problems themselves. "In that sense, playing India will teach us a lot more. We just don’t play enough long-duration cricket. "As a one-day squad we are developing well, but when it comes to Test cricket, it is another matter. The hardest part of cricket is batting and we have to understand that it is not enough to get going in innings. It is crucial to build. "That is where playing experienced teams becomes so important for us, learning to handle the pressure of building innings on a consistent basis." Shakib, currently the world’s top-ranked all-rounder in limited overs cricket, made his Test debut at Chittagong in May, 2007 against India, the only match the Tigers have managed to draw against their western neighbours. Clearly, the auspicious start kicked off something in the young man, who also bowls very effective left-arm spin alongside his work with the bat. "I have always believed in myself. I know what are the areas to work on to improve my game. The thing with Test cricket is that it throws up new challenges and problems with almost each match you play, and learning to adapt is a big part of a player’s development," he says confidently. "As an ODI unit we are developing well and will be a good team by the time the 2011 World Cup comes around. In Test cricket, though, it is a different story." Having garnered 2,160 runs in 28 innings with a top score of 96 not out at a so-so average of 28.80 so far, Shakib feels he is on the right track. "You have to remember I have played just 15 Test matches. (Coach) Jamie Siddons has been a big help, but a player has to understand and assess himself how best to work on his game. "As a captain, it is not that I talk all the time to my team-mates. Sometimes it is better to lead by example — create a positive attitude. That is my idea. The day the team understand it is necessary for 3-4 of them to deliver, we will start to get better results. "It helps that we are a young side. Exchanging and sharing ideas with them becomes a little easier because of their youth." Sift those words and you sense a deep understanding of what trips the Tigers up so often, and a peep into the soul of a man in a hurry to change that.

:omg::omg::omg: :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

[ensd2]

Why cant they play against top domestic teams from SAF ' date=' Ind , Aus and Eng first and once they start winning some matches against them then they can play the top international sides. They are not learning anything IMO in fact their confidence is getting dinted by these defeats :orderorder:[/quote'] For me the only difference between pakistan and Bangladesh is that pak has an history and bangladesh hasn't . It's gonna be really interesting to see how they perform against tier 3 team like new zealand pak west indies and even england

[achilles]

Shakib is a really decent fella. I'm glad Bangladesh has players as talented and gentlemanly as him in their line-up :--D:two_thumbs_up:

[rahulrulezz]

Most of Bangla fans and players idolize Indian players... Don't know why some(few) of our fans spew this haterdness towards them...

[jusarrived]

For me the only difference between pakistan and Bangladesh is that pak has an history and bangladesh hasn't . It's gonna be really interesting to see how they perform against tier 3 team like new zealand pak west indies and even england

you cant be serious england is more closer to tier 1 than tier 3 , they have just lost one test match in last 12-13 they have played

[ensd2]

you cant be serious england is more closer to tier 1 than tier 3 , they have just lost one test match in last 12-13 they have played

yes you are true , but in mars when England will visit Bangladesh Strauss and Anderson are rested so I think bangla can really be competetive agaist england in subcontinental pitch , but they really need to IMPROVE their batting

[Cricketics]

but in mars when England will visit Bangladesh Strauss and

:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical: you read read that line and it sounds funny

[Zap_Brannigan]

Yea, they're arent that good, so what? Have you forgotten those times when we were quite mediocre ourselves? You dont have to look too far back in time to relive those memories.

We werent this bad. Infact, no international team ('cept for the depleted WI and Zim team) has been this bad. Has any team ever been in a position that a victory in never in the cards for an entire year or in BD's case , decade? Don't bring up other teams starting troubles. Back then, the bad teams hardly got a game and ICC wasn't adamant that everyone should play the bad teams. I am also against minnows playing in the WC and other ICC tournaments 'cept the champions trophy. So i would be just as irritated at other horrible teams as i am with BD. But then again, i also want Wimbledon to be played by only the top 30 or so players in a league type tournament.

[Texan]

For me the only difference between pakistan and Bangladesh is that pak has an history and bangladesh hasn't . It's gonna be really interesting to see how they perform against tier 3 team like new zealand pak west indies and even england

Pak is a much better team than that assessment. They didn't get to play test cricket for a year and when they came back, they managed to draw a tightly fought series in NZ. We should stop ridiculing Pak unnecessarily.