Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has revealed he struggled with blurred vision during the team’s campaign in the ODI World Cup in India in October-November. Shakib said he had blurred vision on one side of his left eye and when he consulted a doctor, he was advised to reduce stress. The all-rounder led the much-followed team in the World Cup and the results did not go their way as they finished 7th in the 10-team points table.
Shakib Al Hasan failed to live up to expectations as a batter too. The all-rounder hit 186 runs, which included a match-winning 82 in their last league game against Sri Lanka, and picked 9 wickets in 7 matches.
A lot was expected of the Bangladesh side after their impressive showing in ODIs in the sub-continent. However, Shakib’s men struggled throughout the tournament. The team’s campaign was marred by consecutive defeats, including an 87-run loss to the Netherlands, which Shakib himself described as Bangladesh’s “worst ever” in World Cups.
Shakib’s challenges compounded when he sustained a fracture in his left index finger during a match against Sri Lanka. This injury ruled him out of the final game against Australia, and consequently, he flew back to Dhaka from Delhi on November 11.
Notably, Shakib also took a short break between matches to return to Dhaka and work with his personal coach.
“I had huge discomfort facing the ball,” Shakib told Cricbuzz. “It is not in one or two games in the World Cup, rather I was having it (the eye problem) throughout the World Cup,” he added.
“The thing is that when I went to the doctor there was water in my cornea or retina and they had given me drops and told me that I have to lower my stress. I am not sure whether that was the reason. But when I checked again in America there was no stress and I told the doctor there is no World Cup so naturally there is no stress,” he added.
Shakib has been missing from competitive action since the World Cup. He was ruled out of the Test series against New Zealand at home due to the finger injury and has also missed the ongoing white-ball tour of New Zealand.
Shakib said earlier in the month that he had withdrawn his name from IPL 2024 auction and PSL draft to focus more on international cricket.
Shakib highlighted that he will focus on returning to action in the BPL after contesting in the country’s 12th parliamentary elections, scheduled for January 7. Shakib is contesting from his home district, Magura-1 constituency.