Bangladesh have had a poor Asia Cup this year, with the exception of their Super Four victory against India. However, former India cricketer Irfan Pathan was impressed with the performance of the Tigers against India. He also lauded Shakib's leadership.

Bangladesh got a remarkable victory against India in the last match of the Asia Cup Super Four phase. Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan performed well with bat and ball. His captaincy attracted attention separately.

However, Irfan claimed that no one could have defeated India if India played the original XI. Meanwhile, Irfan may not have noticed that there were no regular cricketers in the Bangladesh team too. Mushfiqur Rahim was absent due to personal reasons. Tamim Iqbal was absent due to injury. The regular pacers were resting for Bangladesh. Bangladesh lost to India without these regular faces.

Irfan told the media, “Bangladesh has shown what they can do by winning the match. Shakib, other spinners, and pacers have done well. Had India played with the original XI I think no one could have won against them. Shakib is doing well as captain. A win against India will give them a lot of confidence. But Bangladesh has been playing well for many years. Now their fast-bowling unit is much better. If the combination is good, they can do better in the future.”

Separately, Irfan praised Shakib. He is of the opinion that Shakib's quality and leadership are great. Irfan expects a better performance from Bangladesh in the future.

Irfan added, “It is very good to see Shakib play. He is a quality player. He is the leader of Bangladesh. But I expect better performance from Bangladesh in the future.”