Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has rejoined the Tigers’ contingent in Kolkata after taking a short break to go home. Shakib had gone to Dhaka on October 25 to consult his childhood mentor Nazmul Abedeen Fahim.
Bangladesh is positioned at the 8th spot in the ICC World Cup 2023 point table with just one win in 5 matches. On top of this, Shakib Al Hasan’s batting form was a huge concern for the veteran all-rounder and he went back to his mentor in Dhaka.
The two had some training sessions in Shere Bangla Stadium and rectified some chinks in his batting. In the tournament, the skipper had only managed to score 56 runs in four innings.
In a video, Shakib Al Hasan can be seen exiting the Mirpur stadium after practice and a group of people are heard booing and hooting the Bangladesh captain.
"Some fans present in Mirpur started booing Shakib as he was getting into his car. It is unprecedented... I have not heard of anyone doing this to a cricketer in Bangladesh,” said reporter Maidul Islam, who witnessed the event.
Meanwhile, Shakib returned to Bangladesh camp in Kolkata. The team trained at Eden Gardens on Wednesday under lights, without their captain present. He reached the team hotel in Kolkata around 8.45 pm where the team manager Rabeed Imam received him.
According to the team management, Shakib didn't tell them that he was returning home for cricketing reasons. Team director Khaled Mahmud, who is the head of the Bangladesh delegation in India, said that Shakib had said it was for "personal reasons", after Bangladesh’s 149-run defeat to South Africa in Mumbai.
"We have no idea about this. He may have gone to Fahim bhai since he is not batting well. But we didn't know about this. [Wednesday] was a travel and rest day. [Thursday] is optional training. That's why the coach gave him the two-day break. He said that he had some personal matters in Dhaka. We know that much only,” Mahmud had told the Dhaka-based Kaler Kantho on Wednesday.
Bangladesh has an afternoon training session in Kolkata on October 27, with the match against the Netherlands on the following day.
(ESPNCricinfo/ Times of India inputs)
