Bangladesh's veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has responded to recent criticism from former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag after their T20 World Cup match against the Netherlands.

Sehwag had criticized Shakib's performance, suggesting that the Bangladesh captain should consider retiring from the T20 format.

Sehwag's comments were made in an interview with a local sports platform: "You are such an experienced player, you have been captain before, but your stats are such. You should feel ashamed of yourself and just declare that you are retiring from the T20 format."

In a post-match conference following Bangladesh's victory over the Netherlands, Shakib addressed these comments when prompted by a journalist.

Journalist: "There has been a lot of discussion about your performance, especially criticized by Virender Sehwag."

Shakib: "Who ?"

Shakib elaborated further, emphasizing the role of a player in a team. He continued, highlighting the importance of contribution over criticism.

"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," Shakib said.

"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. I have never been worried about my performance. I don't think that I ever had that thought in my career. I feel good if I can contribute to the team. As I said, maybe today is my day, but maybe someone else's day will come in the next match," he added.

Source: Cricket Pakistan

BDST: 1657 HRS, JUNE 14, 2024
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