Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hasan Papon believes that Shakib Al Hasan’s sincerity towards the game will benefit the national team in many ways. The BCB boss said this on the eve of two big tournaments like the upcoming Asia Cup and World Cup.
Papon was somewhat skeptical about Shakib’s commitment as he missed some matches for the national team due to his involvement in various off-field matters.
Of late, Papon has seen a noticeable change in Shakib. He got the confidence to believe in this all-rounder.
Papon said, ‘There was no doubt about his potential. There is one thing I have found very good about him in the past year. I personally had doubts about Shakib’s seriousness. I wondered if he would play. Now I see him more seriously than others.’
He further said, ‘We are playing cricket consistently and Shakib is playing in all of them. Went to Canada, now in Sri Lanka. He is giving his best for all the franchises in the world. Shakib always wants to win. Now Shakib has got the responsibility of captaining the World Cup. I think he is fully focused on cricket now. This is a big deal for us. There is never any doubt about his ability.’
But Papon said that Shakib needs to be discussed with him to know if he will lead the team in all three formats of cricket.
Papon said, ‘I spoke to him on the phone yesterday but we need to talk to him more to know the long-term plans. Now he is busy with the Lankan Premier League. Let him come and we will talk about him leading the team in any format. Whether it’s three or one or two formats.’
(11 August/MM)