It is lonely at the top

Bangladesh cricket icon Shakib Al Hasan has long reached the stage of career where a record or a personal milestone pops up in every other match, and it was no exception on Tuesday as the Tigers took on Afghanistan in the ODI series finale in Chattogram.

The match had become a dead rubber after the visitors took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. However, for the wounded Tigers -- seemingly jolted by their skipper Tamim Iqbal retirement announcement before he reverted it and settled for a six-week sabbatical -- there were plenty at stake since two major events in the format are fast approaching Shakib and Co this year.  

Bangladesh capped off the disappointing series with a seven-wicket victory, one that saw as many as 159 balls unplayed in the second innings, and Shakib once again highlighted his place in the upper echelons of cricketing superstars; showing his knack of being a smooth operator even when his team get burdened with off-field controversies -- often inflicted by Shakib himself -- or lose collective form.  

Shakib ended the day with a run-a-ball 39 succeeded by a wicket he picked -- having trapped Najibullah Zadran in front -- while conceding a mere 13 runs off a full quota of 10 overs, including a maiden. He was not the player of the match but the numbers enabled him to reach a few milestones.  

One such milestone was a unique one as the poster boy of Bangladesh cricket became the only cricketer in history to register 14000 runs and 600 wickets in international cricket. Shakib, who had already scalped over 600 wickets in international cricket but had 13,971 international runs to his name at the start of the game, reached the landmark score when he smashed debutant Abdul Rahman for a boundary in the 15th over. 

Also, he joined New Zealand legend Daniel Vettori to become the second-highest ODI wicket-taker as a left-arm spinner, with 305 scalps.

Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Moreover, he further equalled Vettori on another front as the nature of Najibullah's dismissal tallied his LBW victims to 59 -- six behind the Sri Lanka spin wizard Muthiah Muralidaran who occupies the fifth spot in the list, and one ahead of his Afghan spin counterpart Rashid Khan.

While Bangladesh will be hoping for Shakib to match his phenomenal run of the 2019 ODI World Cup, the 36-year-old has to keep working extra hard to overcome fitness-related obstacles that inevitably catches up in the twilight of every great player's career. Form, however, has rarely been a concern for the Tigers' maverick.