Shakib Al Hasan sets sights on prolonging T20I career

Veteran Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has expressed his desire to extend his T20I career well beyond the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, which begins on June 2.

The former skipper, who takes pride in having participated in all the T20 World Cup editions thus far, aims to help Bangladesh achieve a deeper run in this year’s tournament.

In a recent video statement to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), Shakib shared his thoughts on his journey and future aspirations.

"Firstly, when I started I didn't expect that I will play for so long and secondly since the start of T20 Cricket World Cup till this T20 World Cup, I have participated in all them along with Rohit Sharma. It is a matter of pride for me and I'm happy that I could represent the country," Shakib said.

The left-hand batter also highlighted the unique distinction he shares with Indian captain Rohit Sharma.

"Me and Rohit Sharma are the only two players who played all the T20 World Cups and I hope that I can play another World Cup but before that would like to perform well in the tournament and Bangladesh can do better than previous T20 tournament," he said.

Commenting on the conditions for the upcoming World Cup, the 37-year-old expressed optimism.

"We always get favor their because those pitches are quite similar to ours back home. I hope we will get advantage in both the places. The only thing that I feel is that here it should be the same competition between bat and ball and it should not be one-sided and normally that is not the case with World Cups and I feel it would be the same this time round," he concluded.

It is worth noting that the Bangladesh team is drawn in Group D alongside South Africa, Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Nepal for next month's event, with their first contest coming against Sri Lanka in Dallas on June 7.

Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.

Travelling reserves: Afif Hossain, Hasan Mahmud