Shakib Al Hasan

Profile

A talented middle order batsman and a probing, economical left-arm spinner, Shakib Al Hasan has been one of the most prized assets in Bangladesh cricket. He has not only proved his vitality in all areas but his leadership qualities have also seen a more courageous and confident Bangladesh unit taking to the field.

The Magura-born Shakib made his ODI debut in 2006 primarily as a bowler, but over time started concentrating on his batting. However his bowling talents were re-discovered in the 2008 home Test series against New Zealand where in an exceptional first game, he ran through the Kiwi line-up with figures of 7-37 in the first innings and a fluent 71 in the second innings also reiterated his batting skills. Gradually, he became the undisputed all-rounder in the side. His growth as a player saw him being elevated to vice captaincy in 2009 but Shakib showed he was up for captaincy when as a stand-in captain on the fifth day of a West Indies Test in 2009, he led Bangladesh to their first ever victory on foreign soil.

Mashrafe Mortaza’s injury saw Shakib getting a prolonged shot at captaincy and though his stints as captain had its highs and lows, he continued to come through leaps and bounds as a player. But in mid-2010, he decided give up captaincy. However, fate had other plans as Mortaza once again fell prey to injury and Shakib was asked to lead the side in the home ODI series against New Zealand in which Bangladesh thrashed the Kiwis by a whopping 4-0 margin. The following year, Bangladesh toured Zimbabwe to play a one-off Test and five ODIs against them. Under skipper Shakib, the team put up a disastrous performance as Zimbabwe beat them by 136 runs in their only Test and also clinched the ODI series 3-2. Immediate repercussions of the defeat saw Shakib being axed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board. The all-rounder was signed by the IPL franchise Kolkata in for the 2011 season and was retained the following year.

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Career

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