Clock’s ticking away on bowler Shakib

The perpetual pendulum of time is perhaps the greatest enemy of all sportsman as every great of every sport has eventually had to concede to the ticking clock.

One of the tell-tale signs that a player's career is nearing its end is that the skills that once were second nature to them, which they could execute without even thinking, become difficult.

For the last four weeks or so, Bangladesh's cricket fans have been watching and slowly coming to terms with the fact that perhaps Shakib Al Hasan, the greatest all-rounder the country has ever produced, is slowly losing his impossible battle against age as the once bankable left-arm spinner has become almost a liability for the team in this T20 World Cup.

Yesterday, Shakib added another entry in his long-list of records when he took the wicket of India captain Rohit Sharma to become the first and only bowler to claim 50 wickets in T20 World Cups.

Shakib, who has featured in all nine editions of the T20 World Cup, came into this tournament needing just three wickets to complete the feat and it took him six outings to reach it.

It's not like Shakib has only been struggling on the wicket's column. Till yesterday's match, the left-arm spinner has bowled only 13.2 overs in the tournament and conceded at a rate of more than eight runs an over, being the most expensive of all Bangladeshi bowlers.

Shakib has only once completed his quota of overs in this tournament, against the Netherlands, and wasn't brought into the attack in the rain-truncated match against Australia.

Shakib, who had been the team's leading spinner for years, has been used more like a part-time option in this tournament and at times had to be shielded from the batters.

Against India, Bangladesh went with a spin-heavy attack, which was surprising considering the success of their pace attack.

Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto handed the ball to Shakib in the second over, perhaps because of the presence of two right-handers in Rohit and Virat Kohli in the middle.

But the India openers showed no respect to the veteran Bangladesh spinner, taking 15 runs off the second over.

Shanto again handed the ball to Shakib for the fourth over, where he conceded 10, but also prized out the wicket of Rohit, getting him caught at mid-off.

One could try to defend the hiding Shakib with the wicket of Rohit, but on a pitch which usually gets slower as the innings progresses, making scoring runs difficult, Shakib's two overs allowed India to score 53-1 in the Powerplay.

The dip in Shakib's bowling, something the all-rounder has always said came to him naturally and he admitted to not have paid too much focus on it, projects a dire signal.

Considering Shakib's age, 37, his decline in bowling shouldn't be that much of a surprise. But as the all-rounder has expressed his desire to feature for Bangladesh in the next T20 World Cup as well, this dip is a worrying sign.

His batting has been subpar since the issue with his eyes has surfaced. If the all-rounder wishes to continue being an asset for Bangladesh cricket, not a liability, perhaps it is time for him to change his ways and seriously work on his bowling.