‘Rested’ Shakib getting into gear ahead of NZ game

 Sports Desk //

Bangladesh T20I skipper Shakib Al Hasan was rested by the team management for the opening match of the tri-nation series against Pakistan, BCB officials have informed.

The BCB had previously cited in a press release that the all-rounder’s flight had been delayed due to technicalities related to transit visa. Shakib was set to reach Christchurch on October 2 via Tahiti from Los Angeles but as the media release stated, he ‘could not board the flight from Los Angeles International Airport on 02 October after complicacies with the visa procedure arose’. Thus Shakib had to board a flight on October 4, delaying him for two days.

‘The designated airlines resolved the issue and rebooked him on the next available flight leaving from LA on 04 October which he has taken to reach New Zealand,’ the BCB press release on Wednesday had added.

Mehedi Hasan Miraz yesterday said that ‘Shakib bhai joined us today and it’s a big advantage for us’ during a video message to the media. It appeared the all-rounder was available for the game today but although he reached New Zealand at 1:30 PM yesterday (Christchurch time), the team management decided to rest Shakib.

“Shakib was rested by the team management. He practiced today and he will participate in practice tomorrow as well,” team manager Rabeed Imam told The Daily Star today.

It was a surprise when Nurul Hasan Sohan came out to the toss today with Babar Azam which indicated that Shakib was not in the playing eleven. Although Shakib reached Christchurch with considerable time in hand, the hectic nature of his journey saw the management rest him for the opening match which Bangladesh lost by 21 runs.

Although Bangladesh have a optional practice session tomorrow, Shakib will be looking to get on with being match fit ahead of the fixture against New Zealand on October 9.