ICC World Cup 2023: Shakib admits ‘worst ever’ World Cup performance

Shakib Al Hasan

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan has admitted that a chaotic build-up could have resulted in their "worst ever" World Cup campaign after they cut a sorry figure with an 87-run defeat to the Netherlands for their fifth loss on the trot.

Also Read: Bas de Leede hopes for ‘bigger nation' status

Chasing a small target of 230 runs, Bangladesh folded inside 43 overs, managing a mere 142 to see their World Cup campaign as good as over.

"You can definitely say that [it's Bangladesh's worst World Cup performance]. I won't disagree," Shakib said in the post-match media interaction here on Saturday. "I don't have an answer as to why we played this way. We were sloppy in the field. We bowled brilliantly. We haven't batted the way we can bat throughout the tournament.

"It is a big concern. Today was another day when we totally gave the Dutch the two points. It is hard to swallow. It is very difficult to digest."

Faced with persistent questions from Bangladeshi journalists, Shakib made a candid admission that the team was "underprepared" and his fallout with former captain Tamim Iqbal may have "affected" the side.

"It could be," Shakib said when asked if Tamim's exclusion had affected the team.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever