Shakib Al Hasan was by far the standout performer with both bat and ball © AFP

Bangladesh ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan admitted he was mentally exhausted during the last two matches in the World Cup, but was successful thanks to his increased levels of fitness.

Shakib worked closely with the fitness trainer of Sunrisers Hyderabad during his stint in the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League, which saw him shed down six kilograms of weight before he joined the national team for their World Cup campaign.

Shakib was in superlative form with the bat throughout the tournament making 606 runs to have his name alongside Sachin Tendulkar, Mathew Hayden and Rohit Sharma, as the only players to have scored over 600 runs in a single edition of the tournament.

He also picked up 11 wickets along with his two centuries and five half-centuries in the eight matches that he played in.

"I was feeling mentally exhausted in the last two matches," Shakib told reporters at the team hotel on Saturday (July 6). "Probably I got over it because my fitness level was quite good. I could work on my fitness for one or two days in between, but at the same time I could have gotten more tired in the process.

"It's tough to balance everything and so in that sense, the last two matches were really challenging. I don't why but I had a feeling that it [increased fitness level] was necessary. It helped as I had a good preparation before the World Cup," he said.

Shakib said that he was not surprised with his superlative form in the tournament that helped him achieve several records in the tournament, including a landmark of becoming the first cricketer to score over 500 runs and pick 10 wickets.

"From the first match, I had a feeling that something good will happen (this time). I scored well in all opening matches in the previous World Cups but I could not continue doing that. So I had to push myself to not lose the momentum after gaining it. [But] I was not surprised because I knew what I had in my mind. It's just that what happened is the best that I thought could have happened for me."

While terming his hundred against England as the most satisfying one, Shakib said the one scored against Afghanistan was the toughest considering the strength of their bowling. "It was really challenging to perform against Afghanistan. They had good quality spinners and the wicket on which we played were the main reasons behind it," he said.