Short-term plans the way to go, says Shakib

Bangladesh star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan said he preferred to make short-term plans rather than long-term ones, considering that the 37-year-old is in the twilight of his career.  

Shakib left for the USA earlier today to take part in the upcoming season of Major League Cricket, starting on July 6. He will play for the Los Angeles Knight Riders and will then make the journey across the border to play for Bangla Tigers Mississauga in the Global T20 in Canada which will begin on July 25.

Following the back-to-back franchise tournaments, Shakib will be expected to return to national colours in August when Bangladesh will tour Pakistan for a two-match Test series.

"I haven't really planned much. And I don't really have that much time to plan for three-four years. I think that it is good to plan for three months, or six months. So up until now, my planning goes as far as the Pakistan series," Shakib told reporters at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport before leaving for the USA on Tuesday.

"I don't have a plan regarding myself. At this moment, I'm looking forward to the two T20 tournaments, one is Major League Cricket for which I'm heading to the USA followed by the Global T20 League in Canada. I'll play these back-to-back tournaments and then will see where things are. After that, there is the Test series against Pakistan. So, my planning is about these three competitions."

Shakib has been going through a lean patch with both bat and ball. While his batting has left a lot to be desired in the past two ICC events (the 2023 ODI World Cup and 2020 T20 World Cup), his ability to strike with the ball, which has rarely come into question throughout his career, has taken a nosedive. 

In an abysmal campaign in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, Shakib managed just 111 runs in seven matches at a strike-rate of 106.73. He did score a fifty against the Netherlands in their Super 8 run in the tournament but that was all that one would remember from his campaign. With the ball, he picked up three wickets at an economy rate of 7.50 and it was not until Bangladesh's fourth match of the group-stage against Nepal that the left-arm spinner was able to register his first wicket. He took two in the match and scalped one in a Super 8 fixture against India meaning he went wicketless in five matches in the major event. 

The interesting part about Shakib's statement was that he was not particularly keen on long-term plans and it won't be a surprise if he is picky when deciding which matches to play in the upcoming series. There have been a few instances in which Shakib has opted out of Tests in the recent past. Moreover, his sporadic absences have often left the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) struggling to explain the reasoning behind his unavailability. So, BCB would have a hard time planning ahead with Shakib in the mix but the loop of the board chasing the Bangladesh star for his availability may very well continue.