Shakib the batter resurfaces

Bangladesh ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan found some respite from his recent struggles with the bat this Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and got among the runs in the match against Durdanto Dhaka yesterday.

Shakib's struggles with his eye issue and him demoting himself in the batting order to mainly play as a spinner in a few matches has been one of the biggest talking points in this BPL.

The all-rounder has made some adjustments in his batting stance, with his head tilting a little more to his right to perhaps get a better look at the ball.
In the match against Sylhet Strikers on Saturday, he batted at four, but got out for a golden duck.

But against Dhaka, he came at number three and made his presence felt with a 20-ball 34. He was struggling at the beginning, scoring 11 off 14 balls, before hitting a slog sweep for four against Mosaddek Hossain. Shakib then dispatched three sixes in the next four deliveries he faced, seemingly picking up the length of the ball with ease, before falling to Mosaddek with a miscued shot.

Asked later whether he was seeing the ball well now, Shakib said at the post-match presentation, 'Not really, I was struggling but good to spend some time on the pitch, it was needed. Hopefully I can play few more balls in a match and that will give me confidence.'

He was consistent as ever with the ball, picking up three wickets for 16 runs, to win the player-of-the-match award in Rangpur's 60-run win.

Shakib's eye issue had surfaced during the World Cup. The all-rounder said that he was still in the dark about the exact nature of his eye problem but feels that with more match practice, he will regain his confidence.

"Some match practice is all I need… It felt very good to spend some time on the pitch. If I can get a couple of more matches like this, I'm sure I will have my confidence back," he said.

Rangpur skipper Nurul Hasan Sohan said that Shakib's hard work to bounce back as a batter was 'an inspiration' for his side and said Shakib himself wanted to bat at number three.

"It [batting position] was being discussed. Shakib bhai wanted to bat for a longer time since T20 is a short format and there is very little time available. So that's how it happened. Ultimately he's very important to our side and he wanted to bat at three."

A cricketer, who didn't want to disclose his name, told The Daily Star, "Shakib is playing the BPL only because he is focused on the upcoming T20 World Cup."

Shakib's batting against Dhaka makes it seem that he is getting closer to finding a way to bat with his eye condition and his future plans will only get clearer in the coming days.