Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has started operating in the World Cup from where he had left off.

The Bangladesh skipper led the bowling departed from the front and picked three wickets, including the first two Afghanistan batters -- helping to restrict Afghans to a paltry 156 after electing to field --  in the two sides' 2023 campaign opener in Dharamshala today, October 7.

In the process, Shakib raised his World Cup wickets tally to 37 after 30 appearances in the prestigious event, surpassing a few greats of the game -- the likes of Pakistan's Imran Khan (34), Australia's Brett Lee (35) and New Zealand's Daniel Vettori (36).

Only two spinners -- albeit inactive -- are now ahead of Shakib – Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralidaran (68) and South Africa's Imran Tahir (40).

In the 2019 edition, Shakib made the World Cup his own as he registered 11 wickets and 606 runs in eight games.