Shakib Al Hasan is eyeing to extend his T20I career
The all-rounder is the leading wicket-taker in the history of the tournament
Shakib Al Hasan has expressed wishes to play the next T20I World Cup 2026 which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
It was reported that the upcoming T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies will be the last for Shakib who is the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 47 wickets in 36 matches.
Previously, Shakib, who is the only one of two players who have played all of the T20 World Cups (the other one is Rohit Sharma), expressed wishes to extend his career until next year for the Champions Trophy 2025 but now he’s eyeing the 2026 T20 World Cup as well.
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“Firstly, when I started I didn’t expect that I would play for so long and secondly since the start of the T20 Cricket World Cup till this T20 World Cup, I have participated in all of them along with Rohit Sharma. It is a matter of pride for me and I’m happy that I could represent the country,” Shakib was quoted in a video uploaded to BCB’s Facebook page on Friday.
“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 the previous T20 tournament,” he said.
As for the T20 World Cup 2024, Shakib spends most of his time in the USA as his family lives there and it is like a second home for him.
“It is alright that the USA is my second home but it is difficult to say I think we will get that because earlier when we played in West Indies and America we did well and we played in Florida we did well,” said Shakib.
“We always get favor there because those pitches are quite similar to ours back home. I hope we will get an advantage in both places,” he said.
Shakib added that he is expecting an equal battle between bat and ball in the ICC T20 World Cup.
“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.”
Shakib admitted that he still finds cricket much easier than dealing with matters as a Member of the Parliament. Shakib is currently an MP in Bangladesh after winning in his Magura constituency during the last general elections.
“For me being a member of the parliament is difficult (compared to playing cricket) because I have been playing for a long time since my childhood and feel very comfortable with it while this (politics) is new to me (being a member of the parliament),” said Shakib who is eyeing to have support from Bangladeshi fans in the showpiece event.
“There will be a lot of Bangladeshi fans there (in the World Cup) and I hope they will give us full support and this support will help us and we will be able to give good results,” he said.
“I don’t want to see anything besides my name and the only thing that I want is to contribute to the Bangladesh team and hope to do well for Bangladesh in this World Cup,” he added.
