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Shakib Al Hasan is probably the most well-known player in asian and pacific region cricket. A true all-rounder, Shakib is a crucial member of Bangladesh’s starting lineup. He has continuously produced for his country over the years. Shakib originally came to people’s attention when he played cricket for numerous communities near to his hometown of Magura. He spent time honing his skills at a government-run sports facility in order to be chosen for the Under-19 team for the tri-series against England and Sri Lanka. His 86-ball century and three wickets in the championship match helped the team upset Sri Lanka. As a result, he was selected for the series against Zimbabwe.
He achieved his first ODI century against Canada during the tri-series played in the West Indies just before the 2007 World Cup. By batting steadily for fifty runs and bowling ten tight overs for 44 runs without taking a wicket, he contributed to Bangladesh’s victory over India. His consistent performances helped to increase his reputation. He played Pakistan later in the year and struck a century.
In the Test context, Shakib continued acting the same way he did in the ODIs. He made huge progress against New Zealand in the 2008 Chittagong Test match. The best bowling performance by a Bangladeshi bowler to date was his 7/36 mark. Shakib contributed by striking a fifty in the second innings to give New Zealand a challenging 317. The other bowlers offered him no aid, and New Zealand went on to win the game.
After his time with Worcestershire, Shakib got better. His best effort, a 7/32 versus Middlesex, assisted the County in moving up to the league’s Division 1. He recorded 35 wickets in one season. He was the leading wicket-taker and run-scorer along the road in 2010, when Bangladesh defeated New Zealand by a score of 6-0.
When Bangladesh lost the 2011 World Cup despite defeating England, Ireland, and the Netherlands, Shakib came under heavy fire. Despite all the criticism, he excelled for Kolkata in the 2011 IPL.
In 2012, the Bangladesh Cricket Board announced the Bangladesh Premier League, a Twenty20 competition that would take place in February of the same year. Shakib was designated by the BCB as Khulna Royal Bengals’ “Icon Player.” Shakib led his squad as captain as they advanced to the competition’s semifinals, where they were defeated by the Dhaka Gladiators. He was his team’s main wicket-taker in 10 games, scored 280 runs, and claimed 15 wickets. He was later voted Man of the Tournament.
Shakib joined Imran Khan and Ian Botham as the only players in history to score 100 runs and capture ten wickets in the same Test in November 2014. This was accomplished against Zimbabwe. The ODI series that followed saw him maintain his excellent form. He was able to participate in international competitions once the BCB formally loosened the restriction on non-objection certificates in December 2014. He signed a contract to play in the Big Bash League with the Melbourne Renegades in the same month.
Bangladesh continued to dominate the 50-over format after a good World Cup performance in 2015. Because of Shakib’s consistency, his team was able to defeat Pakistan, India, and South Africa in three ODI series at home. With the exception of his unbroken 50 against Pakistan, Shakib didn’t have a great WT20 in India in 2016, which didn’t help his team’s cause as they failed to win any games in the Super 10 stage.
While Shakib wasn’t particularly effective with the bat, he was the perfect foil for Mehedi Hasan, who was making his debut. The all-rounder led Bangladesh to its first-ever test match victory over England and helped his nation tie the two-match Test series 1-1 with his 12 wickets in two games. When Shakib hit 217 runs in the first innings at Wellington during the New Zealand trip, he rose to new heights. He and Rahim had a 359-run stand that broke all previous records. He then followed it up with a duck, gaining a tremendous score of 595 for the first essay, just before Bangladesh lost the game and crumbled.
