'Shakib can't grip the bat'

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hasan said yesterday that Test skipper Shakib Al Hasan should not return to cricket unless he has fully recovered from a left little finger injury and that it is not absolutely important for him to feature in the third Test in New Zealand from February 16. Hassan also revealed, speaking after the Dhaka Premier League T20 final, that Shakib could be in New Zealand ahead of the third Test.

Shakib missed the ODI series and the first Test in New Zealand because of the injury sustained in the Bangladesh Premier League final on February 8. Hassan also gave a positive update about Mushfiqur Rahim, who missed the first Test because of finger and wrist injuries sustained during the ODI series. According to the BCB boss, Mushfiqur said that he was feeling okay and wanted to play the second Test from March 8.

"Shakib said that he would go to play the third Test. Before I left for an ICC board meeting in Dubai, he said that he was eager to play in this league [DPL T20] to get some match practice before leaving. I thought that if he can play in this league then he could play the second Test. But if not, his health is important. I heard he underwent a test yesterday and was prescribed a further seven days' rest. I don't think it's absolutely necessary for him to play the third Test because the World Cup is coming. We want him to recover fully before returning."

In his very first assignment after being reappointed as Bangladesh's Test captain, Shakib Al Hasan faced the humiliation of being bundled out for the country's lowest Test score of 43 runs in Antigua, which was the first act in a 2-0 thrashing in the Test series against West Indies in July this year.

He missed Bangladesh's next Test series -- the home assignment against Zimbabwe last month -- but the scar left by that Caribbean humiliation kept haunting the champion cricketer as he returned for another series against West Indies. This time, however, it was at home and he had different intentions.

It was the West Indies pace attack in their conditions that rattled the Tigers. Shakib came up with a similar plan to use their own conditions and included four spinners in the lineup.

And it was the spinners who took all 40 wickets in the two-match series as the Tigers surpassed their own record of the spinners taking 38 wickets against England in 2016 at home.

Bangladesh went on to clinch the series 2-0 with a scintillating innings-and-184-run win over the West Indies. It was also Bangladesh's first ever innings win in Test cricket over their 18-year journey in the longest format.

"It was not about answering them back, but there is always some advantage on home soil. They took the advantage in their conditions; we did the same. Obviously after losing in that manner there was a lot to prove for us, at least on our own soil. We were able to do so and I would like to thank all the members of the side who had the belief before the series," Shakib, who was adjudged player of the series for his captaincy, told reporters in Mirpur yesterday.

"To be honest, I was very demanding in this series as I was expecting more from everyone. Everyone tried from their end and some were successful and some were not, but the belief was there in everyone. All the members want to contribute for the side every time, but this time the urge to contribute was seen to be more."

The cricketers may not openly admit that revenge was a factor but there were some really motivating words from Shakib ahead of the series as he urged his charges not to forget the defeat in the West Indies.

"I believe none of those who were in the West Indies expected such a performance. We had a meeting after losing in such a manner and we managed to come back hard in the ODI and T20I series. As we were unable to do well in Tests, there were a lot to prove for us.

"We have been playing Tests for 18 years and have played more than 100 Tests. We played against smaller teams in that period. So, to achieve our first ever innings victory here and whitewashing a team at home for the first time... I think it was a big gain for us."

Even as everyone who witnessed the match were saying that beating Pakistan with the odds firmly stacked against Bangladesh was one of the country's better cricketing achievements, player-of-the-match Mushfiqur Rahim insisted that it was just another match for them. 

"It's just another game of cricket. It's nothing special to play against Pakistan or any team," said Musfiqur after the 37-run win in their Asia Cup match in Abu Dhabi. "I think Afghanistan are a great team and also Sri Lanka, although they lost both their matches and they were knocked out from the group stage. But I still think they are a dangerous team because in January they beat us in our backyard. 

"You can't take any team for granted. It was just another game and we treated it like that. All the guys were spirited because it was a great chance to get to the final and hopefully we can make it to number one and end up winning."

When reminded that Bangladesh were without the injured stalwarts Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal and still ended up winning against more-fancied opposition, Mushfiqur – who scored 99 in Bangladesh's 239 all out -- softened his stance a little.

"Of course, this is just one match. Overall, if you think about everything -- it was really hot, we lost three wickets -- and want to take credit for all those then yes, it's a special win," he continued with a smile. "But I think it is just like another match, For sure, the match was in their [Pakistan's] backyard and they know the conditions better than us. We all know how dangerous the Pakistan attack can be in these conditions because there is a bit of help for pace bowlers early on. So from that perspective it was an important win for us. 

"And as you said, two or three players from our best 11 cannot play because of injury, so from that perspective I would say that all of us had to take a little extra responsibility. So Alhamdulillah, it was good in every way."

Perhaps Mushfiqur was downplaying the importance because his eyes were set on something bigger – winning the final against India after having made the title match in two of the last three editions: losing against Pakistan in 2012 at home and against India in 2016, also at home. 

They play the final against on Friday India, the form team of the tournament, having won comfortably against every opposition – including Bangladesh by seven wickets – until they rested a host of their first-choice players against Afghanistan on Tuesday, a game that ended in a thrilling tie. 

"I think so, the confidence is there although I feel we haven't played to our best yet in the three departments," Mushfiqur said when asked if they have a chance against the top-ranked ODI side. "We have been struggling in the batting group in the top order. India are playing outstanding cricket in this tournament, but they are also human beings and they are bound to make mistakes. So I think if we can put up a good score on the board, we can probably pressure them. If we are chasing a good score, if we get a good start then hopefully we can pull it off. That's one thing we hope we can achieve in this tournament." 

While it may seem that being the first Bangladesh player to suffer the misfortune of getting out on 99 in international cricket would disappoint a player who strives endlessly for personal excellence, Mushfiqur Rahim was not bothered with the near-miss after Bangladesh won the Asia Cup match against Pakistan by 37 runs on Wednesday and moved into Friday's final against India. 

"To be honest, after winning, I am not hurting anymore," Mushfiqur said in the post-match press conference at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. "I don't know how much you know about this, but I always believe that the team comes first. If I scored a century, and we scored 260 but lost the match, I wouldn't have felt good. This is not just lip service, but comes from my heart."

In the opening match of the tournament against Sri Lanka on September 15, Mushfiqur's 144 rescued the team from a precarious position. He did much the same here, except that he could not complete what would have been his seventh ODI century and while he was out in the 50th over against Sri Lanka, he perished to a Shaheen Shah Afridi outswinger in the 42nd over on Wednesday. 

"My disappointment [at getting out] was heightened because, as I kept saying after going into the dressing room, as a set batsman I should have batted at least until the 48th over. With the bowling quality they have even at the death, it is not easy to hit when you are new to the crease. We barely scored 100 runs in the last 20 overs.  We scored around 110 [103 runs in the last 20 overs of the innings, which ended at 48.5 overs]. So it was obviously disappointing for me. But I think the team winning is most important."

With all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan ruled out of the tournament with a finger injury before the match and opener Tamim Iqbal having gone home with a fractured left hand after the opening game, the onus was largely on Mushfiqur to compensate for a faltering top order that cannot seem to get going after repeated tries. 

"This [innings] is definitely top five. We needed one partnership badly at that time," said Mushfiqur about building a 144-run fourth-wicket partnership with Mohammad Mithun (60 off 84) after Bangladesh were cut down to 12 for three. "The wicket was pretty good to bat on and we knew that with the quality Pakistan had with the new ball we knew that we might lose a couple of early wickets; that can happen to any side. 

"But the way we bounced back was very important. And I think I should credit Mithun as well because the way he batted – he played very well in the first game and was under pressure in the next two games – but the way he backed himself was great from a young cricketer, seeing him play his shots and everything. The plan was to just knock the ball around in the first couple of overs because we knew that after losing three wickets the team [Pakistan] would be geared up and charged up against us. So we coped with the pressure really well in the first part and in the latter part we carried on with the run rate."