We have a genuine chance of winning the WC: Shakib

Shakib Al Hasan, who climbed atop of the ICC ODI rankings for all-rounders recently just ahead of the upcoming World Cup in England, talked about the Tigers' chances in the mega event.

In an interview with IANS, India's Largest independent newswire, Shakib said consistent performance from the Tigers can help them reach the knockout stages or even further in the tournament.

 "This time I think we have a genuine chance of winning the tournament, but keeping the format of the tournament in mind, we must look to play well consistently. If we can do that, we can definitely look at qualifying for the knockouts and take it forward from there. I am confident that we will do well this time," told Shakib.

"Personally, obviously I wish that Bangladesh win the trophy this time. But a lot of factors need to click together for that dream to be realized. While I didn't play much in the IPL, I had been working hard on my game and was looking to prepare for the World Cup. Gave it my all in the practice sessions and tried to maximize the output in every training session," the ace allrounder added.

Shakib seemed quite confident about the Tigers, especially after some good performances from the likes of Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Soumya Sarkar that helped Tigers in their maiden the tri-nation series triumph in Ireland last week.

"We have the experience, have guys who have played three or four World Cups. It is a good thing as we know what we need to do. Need to get the momentum early on. I am confident. Anyone can beat anyone on their day. Consistency is an important factor to go all the way," said Shakib.

This might be the last time that all the big five of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad and Shakib play together in a World Cup.