Leading Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan feels that there are several candidates lined up to grab their number seven spot in the 50-over format ahead of the upcoming World Cup, scheduled in India in October-November.
Bangladesh are currently trying Mehidy Hasan Miraz at number seven since their home series against Ireland in March and the team management is trying to give him the finisher role which was occupied by some other batters in the past.
“From my personal point of view, the competition is not only about one guy. There are many guys for it (number seven position),” Shakib said during a programme in England on Monday.
“Everyone is performing there and if you see domestic cricket, there is Afif (Hossain), Mosaddek (Hossain), Sohan (Nurul) while Riyad (Mahmudullah) bhai is playing brilliantly. There is Rabbi with the team while Miraz is currently batting at seven.
“So there are six to seven options for one spot and so the decision is not easy to make. I’m sure keeping the World Cup in mind, the coach, selectors and captain will take the right decision,” he said.
Shakib added that he is hopeful to fix the spot before the Asia Cup while he added that they should back the decision of the team management in this regard irrespective of the result.
Bangladesh are slated to play three ODIs against Afghanistan before the Asia Cup which still looks doubtful under the present situation.
“We will have our right combination when we go to the World Cup and it will depend on opposition and condition. On some grounds, four pacers might play….In some other fields, you may need five bowlers.
“When the decision will have to make, you have to take a lot of things into consideration. Now we are just having trials,” he said, adding that they need to make sure they don’t repeat similar mistakes that prevented them from going far in the previous World Cup.
“The condition is always fair in the ICC tournaments and it is even for every team. We have to do well in all the departments if we want to do well. In the last World Cup, we had a good chance but couldn’t capitalize on it due to some small mistakes.
“We must make sure that we don’t repeat those mistakes. Certainly, other teams are improving in their respective areas but we have to improve if we want to compete with them,” he concluded.
