Good chance of Shakib playing WI

The one silver lining of a dark cloud over Bangladesh’s abandoned World Cup match against Sri Lanka yesterday was that ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan would get more time to recover from a left thigh injury ahead of their next match against West Indies on June 17. Head coach Steve Rhodes said yesterday that he expected Shakib to be fit in time for their crucial game at Taunton, which has now become a virtual must-win match as it is one of only two remaining matches against lower-ranked opposition.

Shakib went for a scan on his left thigh, which he had injured while scoring 121 in the 106-run defeat against England on Saturday, and it was gathered from the image that there was a Grade 1 strain. Team management informed that the report had been sent to a specialist, but everyone seemed confident that Shakib will play the next game.

“He picked up a little injury, as you all saw in that game against England,” Rhodes said after the match against Sri Lanka at the County Ground in Bristol was abandoned without a ball bowled yesterday. “He fought on and battled on, and played extremely well with an injury. We’re very, very optimistic with the treatment that he’ll get this week and the way that he can recover well; we’re very optimistic that he can play in the next game against West Indies.”

Shakib received treatment from physio Thihan Chandramohan early on in his innings on Saturday at the Cardiff Wales Stadium and was present during team practice on Monday, but did not bat or bowl.

Chandramohan had said on Monday that he had gone for the scan as a precautionary measure.

Shakib’s lowest score in the three matches so far has been 64 against New Zealand. He is still the highest scorer in the World Cup with 260 runs and has also taken three wickets, so Bangladesh will desperately need his services to keep their race to the semifinals on track.