Bangladesh team reached Kolkata yesterday after their hopes of a semifinals berth in ICC World Cup was all but dashed in Mumbai following a crushing 149-run defeat against South Africa.

What could have been a trivial team-arrival story but, courtesy of Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan and the overly cautious team management, it ended up not being a dull affair; in sharp contrast to the Tigers' show over their last four matches.

While the team was travelling to Kolkata, the news of Shakib's arrival in Dhaka spread like wildfire. And to add fuel on top, much like how the team management kept concealing Shakib's injury status, no clear update was provided by the relevant authority on the situation.

A member of the team management, requesting anonymity, told The Daily Star, "Honestly I don't know about Shakib and why he had to suddenly leave the team in the middle of the World Cup; that too when we are struggling badly as a unit.

"Being the leader, he should have stayed in order to motivate the players and chalk out the plans for the remaining four matches."

The Bangladesh captain was seen at the home of cricket in Mirpur later in the day, sparking even more curiosity. At the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium's indoor arena, he worked with prominent coach Nazmul Abedeen Fahim – Shakib's mentor during his developmental years at BKSP.

Barring the 40 against New Zealand, Shakib's batting in the World Cup so far has been utterly disappointing, as evidenced by his 16 runs tallied in three other games. 

"I won't go into the exact details… but we did work on his batting. I think he is willing to get into the groove so we spoke about a few areas on his batting," Fahim told The Daily Star yesterday.

Mahmudullah Riyad's celebration after his hundred against South Africa on Tuesday, while his team were on the brink of a massive defeat, had garnered mixed reactions aplenty to become the trending topic until Shakib left for Dhaka.

Many had hypothesized that Shakib's Dhaka trip was not purely down to cricketing reasons, rather the megastar of Bangladesh cricket may have commercial commitments to fulfil -- in line with his track record -- in the couple of days before Bangladesh take on Netherlands at Kolkata's Eden Gardens stadium on October 28. 

Fahim said that it was the responsibility of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to "make things clear" and prevent any room for speculations regarding the matter.

More questions were raised as Shakib decided to consult Fahim rather than the national coaching staff. It further raises the question of whether Shakib and his teammates would now simply concentrate on their own accomplishments going forward.

Overall, the same old pattern envelops the stories surrounding the Bangladesh team and it would be unwise to expect any clarification from anywhere.