Shakib Al Hasan rejoins Bangladesh squad after travelling Dhaka to fix ‘technical issues’ with personal mentor

PTI, Oct 27, 2023, 9:33 AM IST

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan, who flew back to Dhaka to sort out some “technical issue” with his childhood coach and mentor Nazmul Abedeen Faheem, rejoined the squad here on Thursday.

Bangladesh, who are virtually out of the semifinal race after four losses on the trot, take on the Netherlands in a bottom-of-the-table clash here at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.

“He had some technical issue which he needed to sort out by meeting his coach physically. He’s rejoined the team tonight,” Mohammed Jalal Yunus, the chairman of Bangladesh’s Cricket Operations Committee told PTI.

Yunus said the Bangladesh Cricket Board did not have any objection with his “personal visit” as he had taken permission from the team management. “Obviously there is no room for any personal visit in the middle of a tournament but he took permission from the team management and they duly obliged,” he said.

“Even Sachin Tendulkar had his personal mentor and sought help when he needed. The Board did not have any issue with that and it did not disturb the team atmosphere also,” Yunus added.

Shakib travelled back home to be with his childhood coach on Wednesday afternoon, a day after the Tigers endured a 149-run defeat against South Africa in Mumbai.

The Bangladesh skipper went straight to the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur where he had a three-hour session with his coach Abedeen, taking throwdowns.

The premier all-rounder has managed just 56 runs in four innings in the World Cup along with six wickets.

Bangladesh team has a big support staff travelling in the World Cup with Khaled Mahmud being team director and Chandika Hathurusingha as their head coach.

They also have technical advisor S Sriram, and Nic Pothas, Rangana Herath, Allan Donald, Shane McDermott and Faisal Hossain in various roles.

South African skipper Temba Bavuma had also travelled back home earlier, but it was during their World Cup warm-up games for a “personal situation”.

Bangladesh, who have two points from five outings, also play a second match at the Eden Gardens, taking on Pakistan on October 31.

They then move to New Delhi to face Sri Lanka on November 6 and conclude their campaign in Pune, taking on Australia on November 11.