Bangladesh’s spin bowling coach Sunil Joshi has described all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan as a “legend” of the game.
On Monday in the contest against Afghanistan, Shakib scored 51 off 69 balls and took five for 29 to provide his side victory.
Joshi expressed satisfaction at the way the spin trio of Shakib, Mehidy Hasan and Mossadek Hossain bowled to the Afghan batsmen. “As a spin coach you cannot ask for more,” Joshi, who has played 15 Test and 69 ODIs for India between 1996 to 2001, said.
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“Shakib is a legend, no doubt. It is a source of great pride that we have a player like that in the Bangladesh side. He is Mr. Consistent for us be it with the bat, the ball or in the field. He has really focused on his fitness and lost between five and seven kilos recently. You can see how that has paid off with his running between the wickets, you can see the hunger in his cricket. His presence is really helping us take our whole game forward,” he added.
‘Outstanding’
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza also showered praise on Shakib, describing his performance as outstanding. “He (Shakib) has been outstanding for us in the tournament, he keeps scoring runs in every game and also comes on to bowl whenever needed,” said Mortaza at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Mushfiqur Rahim (83 off 87 balls) also showed his class as they batted on a difficult surface. “I think that partnership wasn’t very big but Mushy (Mushfiqur) and Shakib partnership was important. Tamim [Iqbal] batted well and [Mahmudullah]’s innings was important,” he added.
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