“It is slightly disappointing to miss catches,” says Shakib al Hasan after losing 2nd Test against India
Bangladesh Test Captain Shakib al Hasan said on Sunday (December 25) that he is disappointed with his team’s catching that let them down in the series-closing second Test against India but the skipper insisted he’s glad about the overall performance and attitude of the team and mindset.
Bangladesh Test captain Shakib al Hasan said on Sunday (December 25) that he is disappointed with his team’s catching that let them down in the series-closing second Test against India.
Bangladesh dropped three catches and a simple stumping while Mominul Haque dropped an easy catch of Ravichandran Ashwin at forward short-leg when he failed to arrange a turning delivery of Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
The hosts were well on top until that dropped chance thinking about the fact Ashwin (42 not out) turned the game in his team’s favor by sewing an undefeated 71-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer.
“It is slightly disappointing (missing catches). Other teams don’t miss the chances that we are missing. They made a difference. We could have bowled them out for 250 instead of 314 (in the first innings). There was a chance in the second innings, but it is part of cricket,”
Shakib told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday.
“We fielded well in the T20 World Cup. We fielded well in the ODI series, but we couldn’t do it in the Test match. Maybe due to lack of concentration or fitness,”
he said.
“We have to find out how to better concentrate for longer, and avoid making mistakes. Other teams don’t give so many opportunities. We miss regulation stuff. Our bowlers have to create 13-14 chances to take 10 wickets. Other teams have to create nine chances to take 10 wickets,”
he added.
However, Shakib was disappointed with the fielding; the skipper insisted he was glad about the overall performance and attitude of the team and mindset. Shakib also credited the Indian lower order for handling the pressure so well.
“I think Ashwin and Iyer both batted well on a pitch that wasn’t easy. Credit to them. I think we tried in every which way. We fell slightly short, somehow.
“There’s no regret. I think we fought well in the whole Test. If we continue having this mentality in future Tests, we will get better results.
“There’s regret not winning a close match but at least we are getting close. Hopefully next year there’ll be a better result. We have 3-5 Tests in 2023. I expect to win all three series, considering the teams we will be playing,”
Bangladesh will play five Test matches in 2023 respectively against Ireland, Afghanistan, and New Zealand and all of them are home fixtures.
Shakib also highlighted that though he is not regularly playing first-class cricket if Bangladesh needs to further develop in Tests they need to introduce more first-class matches.
“We need to introduce more first-class matches to do seriously well in Tests. A player with 50-70 first-class matches is a lot different than someone who has played 8 to 10 first-class matches. I am sure most of the Indian players have more than 100 first-class matches under their belt. I don’t play domestic cricket for a long time, but even those who are playing, how many do they play? They will need 10 years to reach 80 first-class matches. If we could have done that in five years, we may have better Test players,”
he added.