I had huge discomfort facing the ball, reveals Shakib Al Hasan blurred vision battle during ODI World Cup 2023

New Delhi, Dec 26: Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has revealed that he struggled with blurred vision while leading the team in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023.

Shakib said he was advised to reduce stress from doctor due to blurred vision on one side of his left eye. “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 concluded.

The all-rounder, often the talisman for his team, struggled to find his rhythm with the bat, managing only 186 runs in the tournament. Yet, amidst the disappointments, a glimmer of hope emerged in the form of a match-winning 82 against Sri Lanka.

The team's campaign, once filled with aspirations, turned into a tale of consecutive defeats, with a shocking 87-run loss to the Netherlands labeled by Shakib himself as Bangladesh's "worst ever" in World Cups.

The captain's frustration mounted as challenges compounded, reaching a tipping point when he suffered a fracture in his left index finger during a match against Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh ended their World Cup run with just two win and seven loses in nine games. The Bangla tigers were positioned seventh in the points table. The lingering finger injury, sustained during the tumultuous campaign, barred him from donning the national colors in the Test series against New Zealand and the subsequent white-ball tour.

In a strategic move, Shakib decided to opt out of the IPL 2024 auction and the PSL draft, redirecting his focus towards the realm of international cricket. The all-rounder expressed his determination to prioritize national duties, signaling a commitment to wear the Bangladesh jersey once again.