CHENNAI: On May 10, Shakib Al Hasan made his intentions clear in the cricketing backwaters of Dublin. In Ireland for an ODI tri-series also having West Indies and Ireland, the all-rounder had had enough of coming in with not many overs left to play. “There was a time when I had to come to the crease before the first 10 overs,” he was quoted as saying by ICC. “But now things have changed. I don’t get a chance to bat before 35-40 overs if I bat at No 5. For me, I think, earlier the better.”
So, with less than a month to go for the World Cup, Shakib decided to promote himself up the order. Such a move may have caused consternation among other teams, but Bangladesh were more than willing to make that adjustment. The one suggesting the change was, after all, one of their greatest ever athletes and the sport’s premiere all-rounder.
And his decision has reaped dividends at the ongoing World Cup — 75 (84), 64 (68), 121 (119), and 124 n.o (99) — if his first four innings are anything to go by. That he has also bowled 38 largely controlled overs (five wickets at an economy of 5.84) is also an important point because he hasn’t sacrificed his bowling for greater batting prowess. His batting has merely grown in stature while his bowling has remained effective. It’s this point that Bangladesh’s former coach Dav Whatmore emphasised when he described Shakib’s rise. “He was a bowler who could bat a bit. He has now progressed to a batsman who bowls (a bit) and is very handy at it.”
Whatmore knows what he is talking about. It was he who handed the then 19-year-old an ODI debut in 2006. “When I first saw him, I remember him as someone was very skinny but very fit. He’s now the best spinning all-rounder in the game. It’s a testament to his ability to continue to improve with respect to his batting as well as bowling.”
He’s not even for one moment surprised by the fact that the 32-year-old is now one of the contenders for the MVP of the ongoing WC.“Even back then, he had such competitiveness... you could see it in his eyes. He was really focussed. He always knew he was going to get there (world-class performances consistently) at some point.”
The former Bangladesh’s skipper’s next test — an outing against world champions Australia — will offer further further clues as to whether the southpaw can make the stage his own habitat. Win that and the Tigers can start dreaming about bigger things like qualifying for the World Cup semifinals.