Bangladesh didn’t come to win T20 World Cup, will try and upset ‘favourites’ India: Shakib Al Hasan

T20 World Cup 2022: Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan conceded that his team will have to be at its best to try and stop India when the two sides meet in a Super 12 match in Adelaide on Wednesday. Shakib also said Suryakumar Yadav is probably India’s No. 1 batters in T20Is.

Bangladesh will look to challenge India in Adelaide, says Shakib Al Hasan (AP Photo)

By India Today Web Desk: Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan conceded that India are one of the favorites to win the T20 World Cup 2022 title and that his team would try and look to cause an upset when the two sides meet in a much-anticipated Super 12 Group 2 match in Adelaide on Wednesday, November 2.

Speaking to the press on the eve of their big-ticket contest against India, Shakib Al Hasan said Bangladesh didn’t arrive in Australia thinking they would win the World Cup and that they have to be at their best to try and shake-up a power-packed Indian side.

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Notably, both Bangladesh and India are still in with a chance to reach the semi-finals after having won 2 out of their first 3 matches. Bangladesh were hammered by 104 runs by South Africa but the former Asia Cup runners-up defeated the Netherlands and Zimbabwe to stay in contention.

“Well, as I said earlier in one of the Bangla question, India is one of the favourites. They came here to win the World Cup. We are not favourite and we didn’t come here to win the World Cup. You can understand the situation. If we win against India, it will be called an upset and we will try to play our best cricket and try to make an upset,” Shakib Al Hasan said on Tuesday.

Bangladesh have met India in 11 T20Is in the past and have managed to win only 1 while losing 10. Their only win came in New Delhi in 2019 and the two sides haven’t met in close to 3 years. The two sides did not meet in the Asia Cup earlier this year as Bangladesh did not make it to the Super 4 stage of the tournament.

SURYAKUMAR NO.1 INDIA BATTER

The Bangladesh captain, meanwhile, acknowledged that Suryakumar Yadav is going to be one of their major threats and called the Mumbai Indians batter as the No. 1 Indian batter in the shortest format of the game.

Shakib said Bangladesh would sit down on the eve of the match and prepare plans to stop the high-quality Indian batting unit.

“Well, he has been playing well. He is probably their No. 1 batter if you talk about the records in the last one year. They have got quite a few world-class player, we have to look out for them. We will talk about all these areas when we discuss our team meeting. There are top class T20I players who we have to overcome if we are to win,” Shakib said.

Shedding light on the chilly weather in Adelaide on the eve of the Super 12 match, Shakib said Bangladesh are mentally ready to put up a good fight despite the drastic changes in weather during their trips across several cities in Australia.

It had been raining on Tuesday morning in Adelaide but the weather is expected to clear up for the evening game in the city on Wednesday.

“Hobart was very cold. Then we went to Sydney, weather wise. Brisbane was nice too. Now we are getting cold weather. We have to adjust and we are mentally ready for the game. I think it will be a full house and I think it will be an exciting game. We will enjoy the game,” he added.

The Super 12 match between India and Bangladesh will get underway from 1:30 pm IST.