Shakib failed to shine on return

||CF Correspondent||

Shakib al Hasan failed to make a noteworthy return in competitive cricket as he started his second innings after a gap 408 days.

Ending a year long hiatus, ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan finally returns to competitive cricket with the match between Gemcon Khulna and Fortune Barishal in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Gemcon Khulna recruited him in the players’ draft of the tournament, paving his way to return to the cricket, from which he banned by the International Cricket Council due to his failure to report the corrupt approaches of the bookies.

He was free to play any kind of cricket after his ban was lifted on October 28. But since no tournament was held in Bangladesh, he had to wait almost one month to start playing.

Shakib however had completed a four-week training camp with his mentors Mohammad Salahuddin and Nazmul Abedeen Fahim at the BKSP in September. The training was conducted mostly behind the closed doors.

He mainly did the training camp as he was slated to play the second Test of Bangladesh’s tour in Sri Lanka. The series eventually got postponed and Shakib left the country for the USA, cancelling his training.

Shakib didn’t let people know what kind of training he did behind the closed door in BKSP but it is learnt he took the help from BKSP athletics coach Abdullah Hel Kafi and young boxing coach Ariful Karim in a bid to keep his fitness level in right shape.

Shakib did not take long to get into the groove as he picked Afif Hossain with his seventh ball though he can call himself lucky as short pitched ball could have gone anywhere outside that landed at the hand of Jahirul Omi.

However, he failed to get another wicket but bowled decently in his opening game after long gap.

But certainly he could not make an impact with the willow during his stay in the middle making just 15 runs when Sumon Khan digs in short and Shakib takes him on with no power behind the pull shot that went straight into the hand of Afif who was standing at backward square leg.