Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed believes that the captain Shakib Al Hasan should be appreciated for his seriousness toward cricket as his specific preparation in Dhaka in the midst of the ICC Cricket World Cup didn't go augurs well for some of the cricket pundits and fans.
After Bangladesh's game against South Africa in Mumbai, which they lost by 149 runs margin, Shakib opted to return to Dhaka, rather going to Kolkata with the rest of the team. He later was seen to have trained under the guidance of his childhood mentor Najmul Abedin Fahim at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
After two sessions with Fahim, he rejoined the team in Kolkata, just before the game. The critics however raised the question that his decision to leave the team for couple days would put an adverse impact on the team when they have been in abysmal situation in the World Cup after losing four straight matches.
But Taskin who missed the last two matches due to his injury said, Shakib's specific training in Dhaka was for the betterment of the team as he hasn't been in great form.
"Actually, he went for some improvements, you know, like he has not batted well as he expected. But he went to do some specific practice to do well for our team, so we should appreciate that more," Taskin said in Kolkata today.
"(His absence)actually has not affected much. After he came back and joined the team, we had a really good time along with all of our teammates."
Taskin further informed Shakib had talked to the team management before leaving for the country. And at the same time, Bangladesh team was given rest and had no access to the venue in those two days.
"He talked with our management, BCB - then he went, and also, we had rest day that day. So, on official practice day, he's here. So, I think we should appreciate it more, and we don't have any problem, and we are not affected by his absence in the last two days."
Shakib who missed the match against India due to thigh injury, scored just 56 runs in four matches with the highest 40 came against New Zealand. He had so far taken six wickets at an economy rate of 5.54. Three of the six wickets came against Afghanistan.
However before leaving the ground after his last session with his mentor, he was booed by few fans, present in the stadium.
The fans anger is believed to be sparked by Bangladesh's dismal performance as they believe Tigers could seal the semifinal spot. Bangladesh indeed began the tournament with good vibe, beating Afghanistan by six wickets but thereafter they lost four straight matches, which dented their hopes of the semifinal.
But Taskin himself believes the semifinal hope is still there for them. According to him, Bangladesh could still win four straight matches and that can start with their first ever ODI match in Eden Gardens, Kolkata against Netherlands.
"It's not finished yet. Still four more games to go. If we can win those four, anything can happen because there are some run rates issues and also like a lot of teams like England, Afghanistan beat England as they lost against Sri Lanka. So, if we can win four there will be different story maybe but at the moment we are planning to go match by match. Yes, we didn't play well enough as we expected from both units, batting, and bowling, but four games to go. So, we are looking forward to do well as well," he said.
