'Our batting is going downwards' - Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan lashes out at Bangladesh's batting unit

Despite being considered one of the strongest teams in the Asia Cup 2023, Bangladesh has been experiencing a lackluster campaign in the tournament. They secured second place in their group, with just one win in two matches. Advancing to the Super Four stage, Bangladesh is yet to register a victory. Their matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Super Four resulted in losses. Many observers have attributed their struggles to subpar batting performances.

In a recent game against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh aimed to chase down a target of 258 runs in 50 overs but faced batting woes as the top order failed to deliver, with only Towhid Hridoy showing resilience with the bat. ODI skipper Shakib Al Hasan acknowledged that their batting form has been on the decline lately. Shakib emphasized the importance of this reality check as they prepare for the rapidly approaching ODI World Cup 2023. This dip in form has raised concerns about Bangladesh's prospects in the upcoming major cricketing event.

We are not a bad team: Shakib Al Hasan

"Our batting has been going downwards for the last six months (in ODIs) since the series against England and later Afghanistan, now in this tournament, and we need to work on it. We are concerned with our batting and we need to see those areas and work on them so that we can rectify those areas. This tournament before the World Cup will be hugely beneficial because we need to have a reality check,” Shakib Al Hasan told speaking to Cricbuzz.

The Bangladesh skipper also pointed out that Bangladesh generally does deliver strong performances in bilateral series but tends to struggle in major tournaments. The legendary all-rounder also went on to highlight the team's track record in World Cups and expressed gratitude that the Asia Cup has served as a valuable reality check for them.

"We always play well in bilateral series and you cannot say we are a bad team but our big test is taken in this kind of tournament where we don't perform extraordinarily. We won three matches in the 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019 World Cup so people can say a lot of things but when we have a reality check usually, we fail. It is good that the tournament was played before the World Cup and everyone will think about how we can solve this problem and only after that can we do better," Shakib concluded.