'You expect Shakib to come as a king and perform as a king'

Sylhet Strikers skipper Mashrafe Mortaza acknowledged the resurgence of former Tigers teammate and Fortune Barishal captain Shakib Al Hasan saying that it wouldn't come as a surprise if the ace all-rounder manages to better his performance after a stellar run ahead of the Sylhet-leg of the Bangladesh Premier League.
 

Shakib, who struggled with the bat against India in the recently concluded home series, staged a remarkable comeback smashing 304 runs, including three fifties, in the first seven matches of the BPL averaging 76 while striking it at 192.40 to lead his team from the front.

"He was struggling a bit against the short ball during the India series. After that, he brought some changes to his stance which is why he has access to all areas of the field. It is not surprising coming from a player like Shakib because the world-class players, they find their way. They have their own methods of finding the way," the Sylhet skipper said on Thursday.

"It wouldn't come as a surprise if he performs better than this. You expect that from him; You expect that he will come as a king and perform as a king," he added.

While discussing several issues regarding the on-field, and off-field issues of the BPL, Mashrafe credited the improvement of the wickets in bringing out the genuine performers asserting that the players with mettle are delivering so far in the tournament.

"Now you can't complain about the wickets. Those who are genuinely good players are scoring runs. Shakib is scoring runs. Mushfiq didn't get too many opportunities but when he did get the chance, he finished two matches. Riyad (Mahmuduallah) didn't many get opportunities to bat. Tamim scored runs in his latest match; Liton and Shanto are getting runs as well. This is the time for quality players to show their worth," he said.

Three-time BPL winner, Mashrafe also pointed out how the sporting wickets have increased the dependency on the pacers to do the job for their teams. This has also mitigated the effect the spinners have on results curtailing their influence on good wickets. Despite this, the 39-year-old said that the players of genuine quality and mettle have still managed to come through and deliver stand-out performances and the onus on spinners to grind out wickets has been at the forefront of their agenda. 

"We have good bowlers in the tournament as well. Almost all the teams have pacers who can bowl at 140-145 km/h. The spinners have quality as well but they haven't been able to bowl particularly well because the wickets are good this time around and teams are dependent on their pacers to take them through. Every team has 3-4 pacers," he said.

"In previous editions, any spinner could've done the job for their teams but this time, there is no scope for that. Imad (Wasim) is doing well for us, and Shakib is doing it for his team. The ones who are of genuine international quality are doing well.

"As players, we want good wickets and even if the bowlers get taken for runs, I think it allows them to learn and as for the batters, it will only give them confidence," he added.