ICC World Cup 2019 | Shakib Al Hasan will go down as one of the greatest ever, believes Michael Hussey

Shakib Al Hasan is simply as influential as a player gets for a national team. Having come in as the underdogs and with an outside chance of even going all the way, the Tigers’ start to the campaign did not exactly go to plan. However, since then some inspired performances by Shakib Al Hasan have given the team new impetus as they are in a strong position to finish in the top four at the end of the group stage. 

Against Afghanistan, he took a five wicket haul while also scoring a well paced fifty to become only the second player in World Cup history after Yuvraj Singh to achieve the feat. He is the main reason behind the impact Bangladesh has had in the tournament having already defeated South Africa, West Indies and Afghanistan. 

Shakib has 6,000-plus runs and 250-wickets in his 13 year ODI career. He has been on top of the ICC all-rounder rankings for a record 10 years and is the only player to have held the top spot in the rankings in all the three formats simultaneously. He has been a constant fixture of the Bangladesh team for years and the ex-captain has overseen their rise from being minnows to a serious threat for any team in the world on their day.

“Over the course of his career he has been very under–rated but given the numbers, once Shakib finishes his career he going to go down as one of the greats and certainly the greatest player to have played for Bangladesh,” concluded Hussey.