After Bangladesh’s 188-run defeat in the opening Test against India in Chattogram, head coach Russell Domingo hinted that skipper Shakib Al Hasan could play as a pure batter in the second and final Test, slated to get underway on December 22 in Dhaka.

The spin all-rounder couldn’t bowl much in the series opener due to fitness issues. While Shakib delivered only 12 overs during India’s first innings, he didn’t roll his arms in the second essay owing to rib and shoulder problems.

On the other hand, the Bangladesh captain registered scores of 3 and 84 across the two innings in Chattogram.

“He could play as a batter (only). Obviously he didn’t bowl enough overs. He is still struggling with his shoulder and bruising. It left us with four bowlers — a big blow for us,” Domingo said in the post-match press conference.

Back injury didn’t allow right-arm medium pacer Ebadot Hossain to bowl in India’s second innings.

“Ebadot broke down, so we were stuck with three bowlers. It is very difficult to balance the side at the moment.

“I am not 100 per cent sure if Shakib would be able to bowl. He is definitely available to play as a batter, which is an issue for us. We need an all-rounder,” Domingo added.

While questions have been raised over Shakib’s commitment to the side, the Bangladesh coach cited that the all-rounder is competing 100 per cent.

“It is a tricky question. It is a good question. He comes across as very laidback, but when he is in the contest, he has pride in performance. Looking from the outside, you may think, ‘Does he really care?’.

“But I know that he has a lot of pride in performances. He doesn’t want to be embarrassed out there. He is competing 100 per cent.”

Bangladesh got bowled out for a paltry 150 in the first innings and the visitors, which secured a huge first-innings lead of 254, went on to set a stiff 513-run target.

“We wanted to compete. India is a good side, but once again, one bad session with the bat destroyed our chance in the match,” Domingo said.

“Four-hundred is a good score, but it is manageable in Chittagong. We shouldn’t have been bowled out for 150 in the first innings. The most disappointing thing is the poor decision making from the batters.

The head coach claimed that the top order is lacking confidence.

“There’s a lack of confidence in the top order. They are not managing to find a way to get out of the slump. There’s a whole host of players in the top five or six that haven’t played well or been as consistent as I had hoped.

He showered rich praise on debutant Zakir Hasan, who slammed a century in the second innings.

“The young player who hasn’t played Tests with us is confident at the moment. He has shown us how to do it. He played really well.”

(With PTI inputs)