Veteran Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan return to form with a match-winning knock against the Netherlands in their T20 World Cup group game on Thursday. Shakib went on to finish undefeated on 64 off 46 deliveries having crunched nine fours. However, the veteran all-rounder has been on the receiving end of some harsh criticism from former players, including India batting great Virender Sehwag, who had questiond the former captain’s place in the current team.
Sehwag had claimed that Shakib should have retired from the T20 format long ago and even insisted that his numbers in the shortest format of the game have been ‘shameful’ lately.
“During the last World Cup, I thought he should no longer be picked for the T20 format. Time for retirement came a long time ago. You are such a senior player, you were the captain of this team. You should actually be ashamed of your recent numbers. You should come forward and announce yourself that enough is enough, I’m retiring from this format,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
“If you are picked in the World Cup squad for your experience, then show that it was actually worth it. You need to spend some time at the crease at least. You are not Adam Gilchrist or Mathew Hayden. Hooks and pulls are not your strengths You are a Bangladeshi player. You play according to your strength,” he added.
While responding to Sehwag’s comments, Shakib, in a viral video, seemingly failed to recognise the former India batter. On being asked to share his views on Sehwag’s remarks on him, the 37-year-old referred to the former India opener as “who?”.
However, another viral video has confirmed that Shakib didn’t take a dig at Sehwag. Instead, he accepted that a player will get criticised if he doesn’t perform.
There r so many post regarding Shakib-Sehwag’s issue. So i upload the full video from PC. Actually Shakib didn’t understood the name firstly. That’s why he asked da name again. See how positively he took Sehwag’s criticism. Dear Indians, pls stop spreading hate. #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/SIaOQEag7d
— Afrid Mahmud Rifat (@rifat0015) June 14, 2024
“A player never comes to answer any questions. A player’s job is to bat for the team if he’s a batsman and contributes to the team. If he is a bowler, his job is to bowl well. The wicket is about luck. If he is a fielder, he should save each run and take as many catches as he can. Here, actually, there’s nothing to answer for anyone. I think it is important for a current player how much he can contribute to his team. When he can’t contribute, then naturally there would be discussions and I don’t think it is a bad thing,” said Shakib in the post-match press conference.
Virender Sehwag recently claimed that Shakib Al Hasan should have retired from the T20 format long ago.