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Shakib Al Hasan’s three-day journey to Dhaka was cut
down to two days on Thursday night when he returned to Bangladesh’s World Cup
training in Kolkata. On October 25, Shakib travelled to Dhaka to train with his
childhood mentor, Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, in nets.
Bangladesh practised under the lights on Wednesday at
Eden Gardens, naturally without Shakib, who had boarded the late aircraft from
Dhaka. Around 8:45 p.m., he arrived at the team hotel, where he was welcomed by
team manager Rabeed Imam. Shakib was also met by Coach Chandika Hathurusinghe
at the reception before heading out to dinner.
The management of the squad claims that Shakib kept
them in the dark about his decision to return home to play cricket. The head of
Bangladesh’s mission in India, Khaled Mahmud, the team director, stated that
Shakib had stated the day after their 149-run loss to South Africa that he was
travelling from Mumbai to Dhaka for “personal reasons”.
“We have no idea about this,” Mahmud had
told the Dhaka-based Kaler Kantho on Wednesday. “He may have gone to Fahim
bhai since he is not batting well. But we didn’t know about this. [Wednesday]
was travel and rest day. [Thursday] is optional training. That’s why coach gave
him the two-day break. He said that he had some personal matters in Dhaka. We
know that much only.”
On Wednesday morning, Shakib arrived in Dhaka and went
straight to the nets of the Shere Bangla National Stadium, where Fahim was
waiting for him. For three hours, Shakib batted under his supervision.
Shakib has only scored 56 runs in four innings this
World Cup, showing a lack of success at the bat. So far, he has claimed six
wickets.
On October 27, Bangladesh will workout in the
afternoon in Kolkata before of their match against the Netherlands the next
day.