If I could win it six times, why not a seventh: Shakib

(Smiles) Of course, it feels really great. It feels good to win any award. Winning this award for the sixth time is a huge achievement for me. I said this while collecting the award, if the awards function for the year 2019 had been held, most likely, I would’ve won that also. Then this would’ve been my seventh award. That would’ve felt even better. It feels good when your achievements get acknowledged. It’s also a challenge to maintain such consistency.

I thought someone else will get it this time. To be honest, I didn’t even think that I will win it this time. Even five minutes before I went on stage to receive the award, I was saying this to Sumon bhai (Habibul Bashar) who was sitting beside me that whenever a programme like this is held, sports personalities should attend because such programmes are centred on us. Whether we win something or not, is not important.

As I’m still performing well, the new year will be another new challenge for me. Staying consistent in the new year will be my biggest challenge. The biggest driving force for me will be, if I could win it six times, why not a seventh? I will definitely try to win it. I hope to win it every year for as long as I continue playing. However, it would be very difficult. There are other sports, there is a lot of competition among the cricketers as well. But no matter how much competition there is, I want to keep winning this award and will continue trying hard.

In this area, I’m always confident (smiles). Whether I perform well or not, I always feel confident that if there is an award determined by reader or supporter’s votes, I will definitely win it, I’m bound to win it. I am indebted to everyone who loves me so much. I get my confidence from them. They inspire me in every moment.

I want to say this beforehand, I don’t think I will make the list of award winners in the performance category for 2022. But even if I don’t get a chance to get on stage, I will be sitting in the audience section if I’m in the country, Inshallah. Yes, I will definitely try to perform really well to defend our title (smiles). 2023 is a very important year for our cricket. I will try to do something great. That will help me win this award once again, but the main intention behind me wanting to perform well is to contribute to the team. The more I can contribute, naturally, the team’s chances to do well will increase. The others will also have to play well. But if I play well, it will greatly benefit the team.

Every prize evokes the same emotion. Every one of them gives me joy. You definitely noticed that I started to sweat on the stage (smiles). It’s not natural to sweat like this inside an air-conditioned room. You see… I feel nervous and also enjoy it.