Shakib-Al-Hasan

Shakib Al Hasan (born 24 March 1987) is a Bangladeshi international cricketer. Also known as Shakibul Hasan, is an all-rounder, batting left-handed in the middle order and bowling slow left-arm orthodox. He represented Bangladesh at under-19 level, 18 Youth One Day Internationals between 2005 and 2006. Shakib made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Zimbabwe in August 2006, and his Test debut the following May against India. During a match against New Zealand in 2008, Shakib took the best bowling figures by a Bangladesh player in Tests, 7 wickets for 36 runs. Until then, Shakib had been considered more of a batsman than a bowler, although still an all-rounder. From January 2009 to April 2011 and again from March 2012, Shakib was ranked first amongst ODI all-rounders by the ICC. In December 2011, he became the world’s top-ranked Test all-rounder.

Shakib was appointed Bangladesh’s vice-captain in June 2009 when Mashrafe Mortaza replaced Mohammad Ashraful as captain. During Bangladesh’s tour of the West Indies the following month, Mortaza injured himself and Shakib took over the captaincy. He was 22 years old at the time. Initially a temporary position until the recovery of Mortaza, Shakib’s success against the West Indies, securing his side’s first overseas series win, ensured his retention of captaincy even after Mortaza’s recovery. He was named The Wisden Cricketer’s “Test Player of the Year” in November 2009. In July 2010, he stepped down from the ODI captaincy to concentrate on his personal performance. Mortaza took over until injury struck again and Shakib was asked to assume the role. He was relieved of captaincy in September 2011.

Early years and youth cricket According to Prothom Alo sports editor Utpal Shuvro, Shakib “was fairly proficient [at cricket] and was often hired to play for different villages”.In one of these matches Shakib impressed an umpire who arranged for him to practice with the Islampur Para Club, a team in the Magura Cricket League. During the practice session, Shakib batted aggressively and bowled fast, as he usually did, but also chose to experiment with spin bowling which proved to be effective.

He was picked to play for Islampur and took a wicket with his first ball; it was his first delivery with a proper cricket ball, having previously generally played with a taped tennis ball. He spent six months training at Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Pratisthan, a government-run sports institute. In 2005, during the final of a tri-nation tournament involving England and Sri Lanka’s Under-19 teams, Shakib scored an 86-ball century and took three wickets to lead his team to victory. Between 2005 and 2006, Shakib played 18 youth One Day Internationals; he scored 563 runs at an average of 35.18, and took 22 wickets at an average of 20.18.

International breakthrough (2006–2008) Shakib was included in Bangladesh’s senior squad to tour Zimbabwe in 2006. Along with Farhad Reza and Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib was one of the three uncapped players to be included in the squad. Shakib and Reza were described as “very good cricketers in all departments of the game”, and Faruq Ahmed – the chief selector – said that Bangladesh had “high hopes from them and it’s time for them to perform at the international level”.Shakib made his ODI debut on the tour on 6 August; his maiden wicket was that of all-rounder Elton Chigumbura, and he finished with bowling figures of 1/39. He also scored 30 not out while Shahriar Nafees scored his maiden ODI century to help Bangladesh win by eight wickets. It was the final match in the series, which Zimbabwe won 3–2. In September 2006, Shakib was one of three players to be granted a rookie contract with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), along with Farhad Reza and Mehrab Hossain Jr. This increased the number of players with central contracts and under the control of the BCB from 20 to 23.