Shakib Al Hasan, who serves as the captain for Bangladesh in the World Cup, has departed for Dhaka to undergo training sessions with his mentor Nazmul Abedeen Faheem. This decision was made while the rest of the team had already arrived in Kolkata in preparation for their upcoming matches against the Netherlands on October 28 and Pakistan on October 31.
Shakib’s return to Dhaka occurred on Wednesday afternoon, just a day after Bangladesh’s defeat by 149 runs against South Africa in Mumbai. Upon his arrival, he headed straight to the Shere Bangla National Stadium to engage in a three-hour training session with Abedeen, during which he primarily focused on practicing with throwdowns in the nets.
Shakib has faced challenges with his batting performance in the World Cup, having accumulated only 56 runs in four innings while also managing to take six wickets. These struggles coincide with Bangladesh’s less-than-ideal tournament performance, where they have suffered losses in four out of their five games, placing them at the bottom of the points table.
Consequently, the Bangladesh team boasts a roster of coaches accompanying them throughout the World Cup, including team director Khaled Mahmud, head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe, technical advisor S Sriram, and a lineup of coaches such as Nic Pothas, Rangana Herath, Allan Donald, Shane McDermott, and Faisal Hossain, each fulfilling various roles.
It is relatively uncommon for a player to leave their team’s World Cup campaign to train with a personal coach in another country, especially in the case of a home country like Bangladesh. A comparable instance occurred when South Africa’s captain, Temba Bavuma, briefly left the team during the World Cup warm-up games to attend to a “personal situation,” as explained by head coach Rob Walter.
Shakib had previously made a similar decision during the 2019 IPL when he was omitted from the Sunrisers Hyderabad XI for four weeks. He returned to Dhaka to train with the renowned local coach Mohammad Salahuddin, with a focus on preparing for the upcoming ODI World Cup in England and Wales, where he excelled by scoring 606 runs and claiming nine wickets.
Shakib is expected to rejoin the team in Kolkata on October 27, just one day before the match against the Netherlands.
