Shakib ‘quietly’ immersed as BPL swings in

Ace all-rounder and Fortune Barishal skipper Shakib Al Hasan may have taken centre-stage ahead of the start of the tournament with his scathing criticism of the BPL organisers on Wednesday, but by the time the tournament began yesterday, he was fully immersed in cricketing rituals.

The southpaw had shown interest in getting his own franchise into the BPL prior to the season, a BCB official claimed on conditions of anonymity. However, the board did not receive the required clearances from the required agencies to give the go ahead.

Instead, Shakib, having claimed he could fix the BPL in less than two months as CEO, was getting into the grind of things in his own way.

The 35-year-old, who found some form with the bowl during India's recent tour of Bangladesh, had been troubled by injury but yesterday bowled in the nets after a long time. There was no wincing in pain as he bowled before he went to the indoor nets for a session with the bat.

During the last T20 World Cup, Shakib did not create the impact that was expected of the him as T20I skipper, bagging five wickets in six matches including a decent showing against India. However, his performance with the bat in the showpiece event was concerning as he managed just 44 runs in five matches at an average below nine.

However, at the nets he had a pattern of going through his routine. First, it was just middling the ball as he batted to throw downs for the entire session.

A well-played on-drive was followed by an inside-edge. He did not seem to bother as he followed up with a very comfortable cover drive. On middling a few, the flashy drive square of the wicket came into view. Having gotten a feel of things, he started going for more T20-like aerial shots.

He failed to connect on some and when it appeared it was not quite coming together, he changed the glove that stays inside the batting glove. A few haywire shots later, he found a stable base for the hitting position he was seeking and then one hit the roof of the net, indicating it could have gone all the way over the bowler's head. On finding his sweet spot, the all-rounder finished the session.

Fortune Barishal coach Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, also a mentor to the player, said that Shakib's rustiness with the bat was definitely not an issue ahead of his side's first game.

"You may think he is rusty but when he takes the field, most of the times he makes good connection. Maybe he didn't connect with a few but maybe he was trying something new," he said.

Shakib was one of the top-scorers in the BPL last season with 284 runs for Barishal. Asked what was being discussed before Shakib moved to the nets, the coach said: "It's mostly regular discussion. Since he has played for so many years, it's not about always being excited.

"He does his thing quietly," he added on Shakib's excitement for the tournament.

While the all-rounder had once previously noted that his work went unnoticed because he did things privately, ahead of the first match, his preparations on Thursday at Masco and the session at Mirpur gave the impression that he is once again focused on a good showing.