Dispelling doubts over Shakib Al Hasan’s availability for the second Test against India, starting on Friday in Kanpur, Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe on Wednesday confirmed that the star all-rounder is “eligible for selection”.
Shakib, who briefly took part in Bangladesh’s training session in Kanpur on Wednesday, failed to inspire Bangladesh in the opening Test that the visitors lost by 280 runs in Chennai. There were also question marks after his bowling was sparingly used across both innings.
There were also discussions on the broadcast that Shakib may have been struggling with a finger injury, but Bangladesh’s batting coach David Hemp had downplayed it saying he was unaware of that in Chennai and Hathurusinghe reiterated that stance in Kanpur.
“I haven’t heard anything officially or any complaints (about Shakib). There is no doubt about that at the moment. I haven’t heard from my physio or from anyone. He’s still eligible for selection,” Hathurusinghe said.
Shakib returned with figures of 0 for 50 in eight overs and 0 for 79 in 13 overs in Chennai, and scored 32 and 25. On being probed if the veteran’s performance had disappointed him, Hathurusinghe said, “I’m not. I’m upset not about his performance but our overall performance, we could have done better. I’m sure that he also thinks that he can perform better. We all know what he’s capable of. I think he batted really well in the second innings. He couldn’t go on. Not because of lack of pride. It’s the sheer quality of the opposition.”
Hathurisinghe said there were discussions on the team’s shortcomings in Chennai, and it was about “whether we’re able to do that in the middle. We have our KPIs, what we want, and we normally talk about if you make a start, make it big. That’s the biggest concern, because some of the guys got 30 balls (and then got out). In cricket, it’s the hardest thing to get in. But then, this team, India, has been posing different challenges, so we know that as well. So we have to be better for longer.”
Shakib came into the Test series after picking up a five-wicket haul for Surrey in their County Championship match against Somerset. He is also eight wickets short of reaching the landmark of 250 wickets in Test cricket.
Having suffered their fourth loss on Indian soil, Bangladesh would be itching to change the outcome in Kanpur, but for that the tourists will be hoping for a better batting performance, particularly in the first innings. The conditions at the Green Park Stadium could aid them in their pursuit as the pitch could be less lively than the one in Chennai.