Taskin says Shakib's mid-World Cup break not a bother for Bangladesh's morale

Shakib Al Hasan's mid-event Dhaka trip has polarised opinions but the captain's extra training has won hearts in the Bangladesh team. Taskin Ahmed said that they valued Shakib's effort to use his day off to travel back to Dhaka for batting drills.

Shakib went to Dhaka on October 25, the day after Bangladesh's World Cup match against South Africa in Mumbai. He went straight to the Shere Bangla National Stadium where he trained under his childhood mentor Nazmul Abedeen. He worked on some of his shots although it was more about the comfort of batting with Abedeen, someone Shakib has known since his teens. He returned to Kolkata on October 26, reportedly on the advice of the team management after it became big news.

"He informed the team management that he needs to work on his batting," Taskin said. "It was a rest day, plus Dhaka is close to Kolkata. He didn't go to Dhaka for any other purpose. It was cricket-related. He went after the coach and management told him its fine. He didn't break any rules. He took permission. He batted for four hours on the first day. He practiced on the second day before returning to Kolkata. As players and teammates, we appreciate that he batted on a rest day. His batting is so important to the team, that he too is desperate about improving it."

Taskin said that the team gathered in the team hotel for a dinner on Thursday evening, spending a good time with Shakib, who returned shortly before. "We all went to dinner after he returned yesterday. We had a good time," he said.

Shakib has skipped back to Dhaka from Kolkata on another occasion but that was during the 2019 IPL when Sunrisers Hyderabad weren't picking him regularly. He had gone to work with his other mentor Mohammad Salahuddin.

Taskin said that the team doctors cleared him to play against the Netherlands on Saturday. He missed two games due to a shoulder niggle, which he said he has been carrying for more than two years. "I had this shoulder injury for the first time in South Africa two years ago. I have a tear in my tendon for a long time. I am playing by managing it. Even in the Asia Cup and World Cup I am playing with it and suddenly it became swollen.

"Doctor and physio did the MRI and it was found out so I took rest for couple of days and now I am feeling better. I am personally in a good shape and after playing can I understand where I stand," he said.

Taskin said that the pitches in the World Cup has not really offered much to the fast bowlers so many of the them has had to adjust to the conditions, at times by dropping their pace. "So far, I have not seen much for the bowlers in this World Cup. All the grounds are batting friendly but also, there are some challenge and it's not all about speed.

"Express fast bowlers are also struggling, leaking runs. So in this kind of conditions, it's not all about speed. You need some variation skills and a game awareness. It's not all about speed. You need a lot of skills to do well in this kind of surfaces," he said.