It's hard for me to explain: Shakib

In the crucial Super Eight match against India, Bangladesh captain Nazmul Hossain won the toss and chose to field. He mentioned that a score of 150-160 would be good on this pitch. However, Indian batters scored 196 runs. Consequently, criticism is directed at the captain and head coach for opting to bowl first. After the match, Shakib Al Hasan addressed the press conference, providing various justifications on behalf of the coach and captain but admitted that batting first in Antigua might have been better.

In Antigua, after winning the toss against Rohit Sharma's team, Bangladesh captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto said that a score of 150-160 would be good on this pitch. However, India scored 196 runs in 20 overs, losing five wickets. In the last five overs alone, they scored 62 runs, with Hardik Pandya's unbeaten 50 off 27 balls. Chasing the massive target, Bangladesh faced their familiar batting collapse. Ultimately, they managed only 146 runs, losing the match by 50 runs.

The heated discussion centers on why the captain chose to field after winning the toss. At the post-match press conference, Shakib Al Hasan faced the same question—why choose to bowl first?

"It's hard for me to explain. The captain and coach decided who would bowl first. It’s tough to explain. We thought the wicket would be slower. The wicket was dry at the start. The captain probably decided thinking the spinners would get some help. It was a good batting wicket, I would say. In the Caribbean, it is a bit easier for spinners to bowl in the middle overs than during the powerplay. Every team aims to score big with the new ball. As the ball gets older, scoring becomes more difficult."

"Personally, I would say, in the Caribbean, England chased 180 in one match, but in the other matches, the team batting first was more successful. If you look at these statistics, it might seem that batting first was better. The captain and coach probably thought differently, believing that they could restrict India quickly and play according to the target. Maybe that's why they chose to field first."

"When a team has a leader, the decision is theirs. If it had gone well, the captain would have been credited. When things go wrong, we question the coach-captain's decision. It is very natural and logical. But this is the nature of the game. If we had taken two wickets in the first two overs, it would have seemed like a great decision. At that moment, it felt like batting first would have been better."