Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan has made a trip to Dhaka for training with his mentor Nazmul Abedeen Faheem. While the rest of the team headed to Kolkata for their upcoming matches against the Netherlands on October 28 and Pakistan on October 31, Shakib arrived in Dhaka after Bangladesh's loss to South Africa in Mumbai.
Bangladesh Captain went straight to the Shere Bangla National Stadium for a three-hour training session, primarily focusing on batting.
"He arrived today. We will be training for three days. Today, tomorrow and day after, and then he will return to Kolkata. We worked on his batting today," ESPNcricinfo quoted Faheem as saying.
Shakib's performance in the World Cup has been below par, with only 56 runs in four innings and six wickets. Bangladesh is currently at the ninth position in the points table with four losses in five games. They secured their sole victory against Afghanistanin their tournament opener.
Faheem mentioned that Shakib prefers this training approach, and they will continue to work together for the next few days.
"Shakib probably feels comfortable working this way. I am not sure what we are going to do next - I will take each session as he wants," Faheem said.
Shakib, who has returned after a thigh injury that caused him to miss a game against India, earlier expressed the team's desire to aim for a higher position in the table.
“We’d still like to finish up the table, if not semi-finalists then fifth or sixth,” Shakib said after losing to South Africa.
Shakib is set to return to Kolkata on October 27, a day before the Netherlands game. The move is reminiscent of his decision to return to Dhaka during the 2019 IPL before the 2019 ODI World Cup. He was playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad back then.
The Bangladesh team has numerous coaches for their World Cup campaign, and Shakib's choice to leave the tournament in midst temporarily for personal coaching raises questions if everything is okay in the team dressing room.