Shakib dismisses impression of ‘unsettled’ dressing-room environment

The month of July has been rough for Bangladesh cricket as the ODI team lost back-to-back matches against Afghanistan in Chattogram, sandwiched between their ODI skipper, Tamim Iqbal, announcing his shock retirement before settling for a six-week sabbatical. 

Quite naturally, the Tigers were visibly shaken in the all-important second ODI but they bounced back in the series finale to grab a consolation win.

The win, however, gave the Tigers some much-needed momentum as the Shakib Al Hasan-led team now look to stitch a string of good results in a two-match T20I series against the same opponents, this time in Sylhet.    

In the pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow's first T20I, Shakib shrugged off doubts about the state of the dressing room.

"You see, a lot of things may appear different from the outside but I don't think we were ever unsettled in the dressing room," Shakib told reporters in Sylhet on Thursday.

"I think the environment has stayed healthy. Of course, the results could influence your opinion about the state of the dressing room. I don't think the dressing-room environment is dependent on whether we win or lose.

"As players, we stay focused on where we can improve each day and how we can contribute to the team."