Shakib ‘under observation’ as Tigers regroup

The Bangladesh cricket team landed in Pune yesterday ahead of their next World Cup encounter against India, as they awaited the medical report of skipper Shakib Al Hasan.

Shakib was hurt in Friday's World Cup fixture in Chennai and had to leave the pitch before the Bangladesh-New Zealand match ended in Chennai - owing to a left quadriceps injury. He was taken for a scan after the game.

His availability for Bangladesh's fourth World Cup fixture, on October 19 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, hinged on the MRI scan report - which were due to arrive yesterday.

Bangladesh physio Bayjedul Islam Khan did not reveal the results at the end of the day but informed that Shakib's fitness for the upcoming matches will be "under observation".

"We will clinically assess his day-to-day progress and take measures accordingly," he added.

The game's opening innings saw the ace all-rounder suffer from cramping while batting. He tried to hit his way out of trouble, but it cost him his wicket. Later, Shakib was seen standing at the slip before leaving the field early after bowling out the full quota of 10 overs.

Bangladesh suffered their second consecutive defeat in the tournament after falling to New Zealand by an eight-wicket margin. It will thus be crucial for the Tigers to regroup before their next game.

The Tigers are scheduled to resume training on October 17 as the team management decided to give the cricketers a two-day rest in Pune to recover from the physical and emotional stress of the crushing defeats to England and New Zealand.

"We should have a good rest. The danger here is that the World Cup games come thick and fast," Bangladesh assistant coach, Nic Pothas, told the media on Friday.

"They are high-pressure [matches]. These games take a lot out of you. You get into a more-is-more situation. You think more practice helps but it doesn't. We will be giving the players a good amount of mental and physical rest to help prepare for India," added the South African coach.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh's failure at the top-order in all three World Cup matches has drawn attention towards the repeated reshuffling of the batting order, prompting harsh criticism from all quarters.

Mehedi Hasan Miraz was dropped to number five against England after making a fifty against Afghanistan - before returning to number three against New Zealand.

Najmul Hossain Shanto, who had been nurtured as the number three batter over around the past year and had scored substantially in that position, batted fourth against Afghanistan in the first game. The 25-year-old batted at number three against England, but was moved to number four again against New Zealand.

Towhid Hridoy, another young batter who made his mark since making his ODI debut at number five and scored over 500 runs this year in that position, has batted at number seven so far in the World Cup. According to Pothas, the batters are aware of their roles.

"This is modern cricket. The batters know that they have to be flexible and adaptable. They are all dependent on our opposition and conditions. A lot of thought goes into [the batting-order]," said Pothas.

Even vice-captain Shanto was unable to explain why the batting-order was constantly being shuffled. He stated that it was primarily the coach and captain's decision.

Obviously, the team management might devise a different strategy at times, taking into account the opposition's strengths and shortcomings. However, if the reshuffling continues between matches, the players tend to have a clarity over their roles, leading to a collective failure as evidenced so far in the main event.