Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan admitted that he had made no predictions ahead of the one-off Test against Ireland but of course, liked to win and was eventually happy that they could make it happen over the tourists.

Bangladesh scripted their first win at home since 2020 as they handed the Irish a seven-wicket defeat at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Since their monumental victory against host New Zealand in January 2022 at Mount Maunganui, Bangladesh has lost eight Tests and tied one.

‘I didn’t want anything before the commencement of the match.' Of course, I liked to win and am happy that we could win,’ said Shakib after the match.

The ace all-rounder further clarified that there is no legal obligation in cricket that he must bowl since there are a substantial number of bowlers on their side.

‘No, there doesn’t exist any explanation like that. It doesn’t necessarily mean that someone has to bowl. If you have four or five kinds of arsenals, you don’t need to apply them all.’

‘What does that mean, Bangladesh can’t go without me. We have a sizeable number of bowlers to take 20 wickets, and I have that belief in them, and they proved it.’

‘Specially, the game has been played on such a surface; we don’t play much on this type of pitch.’   

The southpaw who was set to play in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League in the outfits of Kolkata Knight Riders has stepped down for family reasons.

No, I wasn’t upset. Since this year’s World Cup [ICC WC 2024] will be played in India, it was a great opportunity. However, a family emergency is a family emergency.