Negativity spread like a virus: Shakib

JOHANNESBURG: The negativity among the Bangladesh players spread like a “virus” as they got thrashed one game at a time on their South Africa tour, according to Shakib Al Hasan. The four weeks of woeful cricket finished with the 83-run defeat in the second T20 in Potchefstroom.

Shakib said that once they were handed the drubbings in the two Tests, the morale within the group started to go down, and it culminated in poorer performances in the ODIs, Bangladesh’s favoured format, and T20s. None of Bangladesh’s batsmen made more than 300 runs across formats on this tour, while their highest wicket-taker, Rubel Hossain, took just seven wickets.

Shakib observed that those in the dressing-room started to speak about personal things when things didn’t go their way, which inevitably contributed to low moods and an atmosphere of defeat.