So much to learn from Shakib: Soumya

With the pitch at Southampton being a slow one, on which Afghanistan's spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi had bullied the famed Indian batting lineup on Saturday, there was fear of how Bangladesh would fare against the same trio on the same wicket.

It was not the hard-to-pick, fast googlies of Rashid, nor the carrom balls of Mujeeb that won the day. It was the guile, loop and arm balls of Shakib Al Hasan that was the main difference at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton yesterday. Those are all old-fashioned tools and so do not garner much attention.

Yesterday, on a wicket that resembled Shakib's beloved Mirpur more than it did any English surface, Shakib truly came into his own.

When given a wicket where the ball will grip and his subtle changes of pace, allied with the unerring accuracy he employed, Shakib has the ability to make even the best batsman struggle. That is not to say that Shakib has been markedly less effective in other matches as he has performed the dual role of wicket-taker and run-stopper, much as he does with bat and ball.

Whereas he used the same tools to stifle the runs in the matches other than the one against Australia, yesterday Shakib knew that the batsmen cannot just play him like a slow-medium bowler. With the pitch taking turn, his arm-balls become lethal, as Mohammad Nabi found out in the 29th over when one snaked through bat and pad and rattled the stumps.

His subtle changes of pace came into effect too. On a slow wicket, in his first over, he used the newish ball to surprise Rahmat Shah with a faster one that landed just short enough to tease the pull shot and skidded through, the resultant top edge carrying only to mid on.

If the quicker one got Rahmat, a flighted one got Gulbadin Naib, who played early and offered a sharp catch to short cover.

As if to prove that his arm-ball could fool left-handers too, Shakib deceived an advancing Najibullah Zadran with one to claim his second five-for. In a World Cup where he is the highest scorer as well as becoming the only one to take 10 wickets and score more than 400 runs in the tournament's history, the question of whether it was his best performance has become a common one.

"I don't rank my performances, but it is very satisfying when I'm contributing with both ball and bat. It gives me more satisfaction rather than contributing in one sector," Shakib said.

He probably does not need to rank performances, because he perhaps knows that the level he operates at on most days, it is only natural that days like yesterday will happen.

Bangladesh player Soumya Sarker took an incredible catch in the Super Ten match of ICC World T20 against Pakistan that stunned the audience at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Soumya claimed the catch, which was skillful and at the same time spectacular, of Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez in the 17th over of the game, bringing in an important breakthrough for Bangladesh.

On the fourth delivery of Bangladesh spinner Arafat Sunny in the 17th over, Hafeez struck a powerful slog sweep which was flat and was headed for six over midwicket.

Soumya ran to his left and darted into the frame, extending his full height and took the catch with both hands.

But there was more! The momentum took him over the boundary, so he threw the ball up as high as he could and moved back inside the boundary line with enough time to reach full length to reclaim the catch.

The catch was invaluable to Bangladesh as it got Hafeez out, who had already scored 64 runs off 42 deliveries and was looking to score even more.

It's amazing what Shakib Al Hasan is doing, it's just unbelievable batting.

Shakib has improved a lot because he was dropped in the Indian Premier League and had to practise really hard.

Importantly, he knew what needed to improve - and he did it.

As well as being a fantastic all-rounder, Shakib also has the potential to be one of the best batsmen in the world.

When he started, he was a batting all-rounder, but after that he steadily started to improve his bowling as well.

His partnership with Mushfiqur Rahim has been particularly strong in this ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.

A good understanding is really important when building partnerships, and they've been playing for such a long time together that they now know each other inside-out.

Both are fighters, mentally strong and also smart cricketers too. It's a partnership that works well.

It was obviously a wonderful performance by the team against Afghanistan, but especially Shakib.

The boys want to play in the semifinals and to do that there is no other option than to win games like this.

Watching the game, and indeed other matches in the competition, it's clear to see some similarities between this Afghanistan team and Bangladesh when they were starting out.

Like us, their strong point is spin, while the level of performance is also similar to Bangladesh from the past.

Everyone was saying before the game that Afghanistan had superior bowlers to us, but I didn't particularly agree.

In truth, I was expecting a performance like this from the Bangladeshi spinners. Everyone knows that if the pitch is turning, Shakib and Mehidy are dangerous, and so it proved.

Bangladesh play Asian rivals India and Pakistan next, but I have to say no cricketer thinks about facing their neighbours in any different way to normal; they're just another opponent.

India have been a very good in the World Cup so far and came into the competition as one of the favourites.

Everyone is talking about them, but that creates an opportunity for our players. I'm sure they'll be up for the challenge.

Bangladesh can definitely take some lessons from Afghanistan's performance against India where they ran them close, but everyone has different ways of playing.

On that day, Afghanistan's bowling and fielding was amazing, but if we bat well and focus on our strengths, we can do well too.

It depends on the wicket and the situation on the day but you have to play what is in front of you.

India's batting line-up is so strong that Bangladesh will have to be at their very best with the ball if they want to stand a chance of winning.

That said, I believe they can do it.

The team is playing really well at this moment. I still think that it will be very difficult to qualify for the semi-finals, but they've created a great chance for themselves.

This story originally appeared on ICC.

Bangladesh Test and T20I skipper Shakib Al Hasan could not meet with Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials yesterday as he had to return home due to heavy traffic. The congestion was caused by students protesting the death of a university student run over by a bus in the capital on Tuesday.

BCB chief physician Dr. Debashish Chowdhury, however, informed that Shakib has no major issues and will meet with BCB officials whenever he is available.

"Shakib left his home today but due to the ongoing unrest and traffic jam he had to return home. So we could not meet him today.

"Whenever he is available we will try to sit with him. However, he is in good state and there is no such problem."

MOHAMMAD SAIFUDDIN

Meanwhile, BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury informed that Shakib's No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) will be contingent upon advice from the medical team.

"Shakib's two-week rehabilitation programme ended today [Wednesday]. His NOC will be decided after discussing with the medical team and the same was communicated to IPL authorities," said Nizamuddin. 

Debashish also gave an update on Abahani Limited all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin, who suffered a back injury and missed Abahani's opening game of the second phase of the ongoing Dhaka Premier League (DPL).

"Saifuddin's scan report was good. There were no big issues as he is now pain-free. We advised him to join the team [Abahani] tomorrow for running and other practice. After the injury he did not bat or bowl but tomorrow [Thursday] he will join the team for practice and see if there is any issue he faces while batting or bowling."