Shakib Al Hasan has proved his worth again

Shakib Al Hasan – The ultimate champion of Bangladesh

The pressure of expectations on Shakib Al Hasan always remains high and to play for a team like Bangladesh, who have been the underachievers in world cricket till now, is never an easy task. He carries the hope of sixteen crore Bangladeshis. Even if Bangladesh lose, the loyal fans of Bangladesh cricket will be satisfied if Shakib does well. He is the heartbeat of every Bangladeshi.

Be it a rickshaw driver, a daily labourer or an elite, all will ask you first about Shakib’s whereabouts before Bangladesh’s position in a match. People will gather in front of those luxurious television shops whenever Shakib takes the center stage. If he hits a six or four or grabs a wicket, there will be a huge roar and it seems that one man has been able to capture the imagination of a nation which is in need of a hero.

Such has been Shakib’s impact not only over Bangladesh cricket, but over the whole country.

But amid those glorious performances and finest moments, Shakib Al Hasan’s cricketing journey has also been affected by controversies. And this year, most of the times, he has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

He suffered a three-match suspension on February for making a lewd gesture on live television. He missed two important matches for Bangladesh during the Asia Cup and he returned with a bang against Pakistan, but sadly the Tigers had lost a nail-biter to Shahid Afridi’s magic.

No sooner had things started to calm down, Shakib was handed another suspension by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in July as he disregarded the protocol by leaving the dressing room during the first one-day international against India and getting involved in an altercation with a spectator, who had allegedly harassed Shakib's wife.

Shakib’s absence was heavily felt and had made the Tigers to suffer as they struggled to get back on the winning track. The BCB also started to feel his importance.

In August, the BCB had reduced his suspension from six months to two-and-a-half months and for which he was available for selection for the series against Zimbabwe. Shakib bounced back in style.

He had announced his comeback by bagging six wickets in the first innings of Mirpur Test and in the second Test at Khulna, he simply blew away the Zimbabwean team both with the bat and ball. By dismissing Elton Chigumbura, he became the third cricketer to score a hundred and bag ten wickets in the same Test match. Imran Khan and Sir Ian Botham had done this before Shakib.

Moreover, since 2000, only on five occasions that a player has scored a century and taken a five-wicket haul in a Test match and three of those have been by Bangladesh players.

Sohag Gazi had scored an unbeaten 101 and took 6 for 77 against New Zealand in Chittagong in 2013, but the other two were both achieved by Shakib Al Hasan: 144 and 6 for 82 against Pakistan in Mirpur in 2011, and 137 and 5 for 80 in the Khulna Test match against Zimbabwe.

Wow! That’s how champions rise to the occasion when the going gets tough. The more you try to suppress them, the more they will bounce back strongly. Time and again, Shakib has replied his ugly critics with scintillating performances.

Shakib Al Hasan is the ultimate champion of Bangladesh. He is not an Imran or Botham but he plays like them. Shakib is a cocktail of swagger, nonchalant, rhythm, anticipation and ego. Yes, he has a big ego, but his ego makes him determined enough to perform better each time he takes the field. Such egoistic champions are more often the nucleus of a team and for which such egoistic champions must be handled smartly and not harshly.

Shakib has proved his worth again. I hope his harsh critics realize his true worth as well.