Proteas train amid Shakib protests

South Africa had their first training session on Thursday ahead of the first of the two-Test series against hosts Bangladesh but the Proteas' training was overshadowed by some off-field incidents at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.

The Proteas, who arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday for their first tour here since 2015, reached the stadium premises in Mirpur yesterday at noon with their full squad amid tight security.

However, at the same time, there was a protest going on at the main entrance of the stadium where some 100 protesters carrying different banners and boards were trying to grab the attention of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials, asking them not to give all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, a former lawmaker of the ousted Awami League government, an opportunity to play in the opening Test against South Africa.

Shakib, who was scheduled to return home yesterday night to bid adieu to Test cricket through the first Test in Mirpur, had to change his plan after youth and sports adviser Asif Mahmud advised the cricket board to discourage Shakib from returning because of public anger.

He is now expected to return to the USA and is very likely to miss the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League as well.

As all these things were happening outside the stadium premises, it hardly could affect proteas as they had their regular practice session both at the main ground and National Cricket Academy (NCA).

After a few warm-up sessions and a football match at the main ground, the proteas had some fielding sessions, focusing mainly on slip catching. At the NCA nets, they focused mostly on facing spinners, perhaps in anticipation of a spin threat from Bangladesh.

Along with seven to eight net bowlers, South African spinners Keshav Maharaj, Dane Piedt, and all-rounder Aiden Markram were also seen bowling against Protea batters, who seemed to be very much comfortable as they were frequently playing sweeps and straight shots.

Regular skipper Temba Bavuma, who will miss the opening Test due to left tricep muscle strain, joined his teammates for his recovery session. Meanwhile, it was more about adjusting to the wickets and conditions for pacers like Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada, who were hardly seen bowling at full pace.

The visitors will have three more practice sessions before facing the hosts in the opening Test in Mirpur, scheduled to start on October 21. Bangladesh will start their training under new head coach Phil Simmons for the series from today.

The second and final World Test Championship fixture will start in Chattogram from October 29.