Bangladesh’s cricket captain on Tuesday was confident that ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will compete at his best in a Test against Pakistan this week, after protests over the former lawmaker’s inclusion.
Shakib, 37, was a member of the now dissolved Bangladesh parliament led by ex-premier Sheikh Hasina, who was forced to flee the country at the start of the month following mass protests.
The interim government last week gave permission for Shakib, who has not commented on the political crisis, to feature in the two Tests against Pakistan, the first of which starts Wednesday.
“He has played this game for so, long so he knows his role and how to prepare himself. I am not thinking about his political career,” Bangladesh skipper and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said at a press conference.
Asked if the political setback would affect Shakib’s performance, Shanto said: “I don’t think so because he is a professional cricketer, we all treat him as a cricketer, to be honest.”
“I hope he will do something special in this series,” he added.
Shakib is Bangladesh’s key all-rounder with 4,505 runs in 67 Tests and as a spinner got 237 wickets — the most of any Bangladesh bowler in Test cricket.
Bangladeshis in Dhaka protested over Shakib’s continued inclusion in the team, with former Bangladesh Cricket Board member Rafiqul Islam criticising him for staying silent as protesters died in clashes with security forces.
Shakib joined the squad in Pakistan last week, after featuring in the Global T20 League in Canada, where Bangladeshis also chanted slogans against him.
The unrest in Dhaka stopped the team from assembling for practice sessions.
The tourists got some reprieve after the Pakistan Cricket Board invited them to arrive four days early to make up for their lack of preparations.
Still, Shanto hoped that Bangladesh could overturn a dismal Test record against Pakistan, having lost 12 of the last 13 Tests, with just one draw.
“We have a balanced side and I hope we play some good cricket,” said Shanto. “I think the record can be changed, it’s not easy but we believe that we can do some special things.”
The Rawalpindi Test is under threat from bad weather, with rain predicted on all five days.
The second Test will be played in the same stadium from August 30.
Teams:
Pakistan: 1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Shan Masood (capt), 4 Babar Azam, 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Salman Ali Agha, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Khurram Shahzad, 11 Mohammad Ali
Bangladesh (probable): 1 Shadman Islam, 2 Zakir Hasan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 4 Mominul Haque, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Litton Das (wk), 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Shoriful Islam, 10 Khaled Ahmed, 11 Hasan Mahmud/Nahid Rana.