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'Finishing Higher On The Table Is Our Goal'- Shakib Al Hasan Before Pakistan Clash

image-lodum23yShakib speaking to press ahead of Pakistan clash (Twitter)

Shakib Al Hasan posed a realistic outlook about Bangladesh's ICC World Cup chances and said apart from the Champions Trophy context, it's the pride and a position higher up the points table that they must play the remainder of their matches for. 

The skipper's remarks came ahead of the league-stage encounter with Pakistan in Kolkata on Tuesday (October 31) after going down heavily in their last five matches to England, New Zealand, India, South Africa and Netherlands. 

Bangladesh's qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy is at stake in the next three matches as they stand ninth in the points table with a solitary win from six matches. Only top 7 teams from the ongoing World Cup plus hosts Pakistan will secure their spot in the eight-team championship. 

Shakib's men are in serious danger of missing out if they lose their remaining games, including two versus Sri Lanka (November 6) in Delhi and Australia (November 11) in Pune. The captain has thus identified a goal for his team: "to finish higher in the points table". 

Shakib Calls For Bangladesh To Raise Their Game 

"Apart from the Champions Trophy, finishing higher on the table is a goal. We haven't performed up to expectations. If we can still get some good results, we can be slightly satisfied and then reflect on how we can do better," Shakib told press on Monday (October 30). 

The experienced head, who had earlier admitted his controversial feud with senior pro Tamim Iqbal may have acted as an unnecessary distraction for the rest of the squad, also revealed there have been extensive discussions held within the group about the disastrous run. 

Discussions and meetings in which Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan was also involved after providing the players public support and encouragement at a difficult time as even the glimmer of hope of securing a semifinal spot vanished with the loss against the Dutch. 

"We discussed it in our team meetings. We talked about overcoming this situation. We have to show it in action. Talk is cheap when it's not working. We will do it in the ground so that everyone can see what we are doing," Shakib said. 

"We felt bad on that day (after losing to Netherlands). But we have to look forward, which everyone tried to do. We did what can make things better. We can change the situation of the team with our actions."

"We are here to play the World Cup. Every match is as important as it gets. We will take one game at a time. We don't think about anything else other than performing to the best of our ability," he added.