Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh captain, who is undergoing a poor run of form with both bat and ball in the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup left for home midway during the tournament after his side was knocked out of the qualification race following their fourth defeat. South Africa gave a 149-run hammering to Bangladesh in Mumbai a couple of days and even if the Shakib-led side wins all their remaining four games, they will only have 10 points in the kitty, which won't be enough for them to reach the semis.
As per an ESPNCricinfo report, Shakib has returned home to Dhaka to train with his mentor Nazmul Abedeen Faheem ahead of his side's two games in Kolkata. Shakib has endured a poor run of form with both bat and ball as he has scored just 54 runs in five matches and taken just six wickets with an economy of 5.54.
"He arrived today. We will be training for three days Today, tomorrow and the day after, and then he will return to Kolkata. We worked on his batting today," Faheem was quoted as saying in the report.
It is unusual for a player to return home to another country in the middle of a tournament but given the close proximity between Dhaka and Kolkata, Shakib felt this was the right thing to do.
"Shakib probably feels comfortable working this way," Faheem said. "I am not sure what we are going to do next - I will take each session as he wants." Bangladesh may not qualify for the semi-finals but they need their skipper to lead from the front. The report stated that Shakib is set to come back to Kolkata on Friday, October 27, in time for his side's game against the Netherlands on Saturday. After Saturday, Bangladesh face Asian rivals Pakistan at the same venue on Tuesday, October 31.
