Champions Trophy: Shakib Al Hasan, now a taboo word in Bangla camp?

The 2025 Champions Trophy was meant to the swansong for Shakib Al Hasan, arguably the finest allrounder Bangladesh has ever produced. During the Test series against India last year, he had expressed a desire to call time on his international career at the tournament where he first came into the limelight way back in 2006.

The reality, of course, panned out differently as his name almost seemed like taboo at the pre-match press conference by Bangladesh captain Nazmul Hasan Shanto in Dubai on Wednesday. Asked towards the end of the interaction whether the Tigers would be missing the veteran in their opener against India, the young captain came up with a terse ‘no’. An answer which possibly hid more than it revealed.

The official reason — which added insult to injury for the former captain — was that his bowling action was reported in a county game, leading to his suspension following failed bowling action tests. It surely came as a timely ploy to keep the 37-year-old out of Bangladesh’s scheme of things, though Shakib’s days seemed to have been numbered  as soon as the political landscape shifted in his country in early August.

Shakib, an elected member of the erstwhile ruling party Awami League, was in the bad books of the new dispensation, and it became increasingly apparent that he would be not able to realise his dream of playing his last home Test against South Africa. Then in January, there were allegations of a bounced cheque against the cricketer, making it clear that it was possibly the last nail in the coffin.

It’s clear that a new-age Bangladesh is trying hard to move beyond the golden generation, though the team is still reliant on the solidity and temperament of Mushfiqur Rahim in this 50-over affair. “If we look back, we have been doing well in this format. If we play well, I think we can beat any of the teams in the fray,’’ said Shanto, a top order batter who has held the team together reasonably well during his short tenure.

An interesting aspect about this Bangladesh unit is that the arrival of young tearaway Nahid Rana and the current form of experienced pacer Taskin Ahmed has made the attack more rounded than in the past. ‘’The seam attack has become much better than in the past. In Dubai where the ball swings under lights, it may work to our advantage,’’ Shanto said.

The 22-year-old Nahid, from a remote corner of Bangladesh, burst into the limelight with his debut against Sri Lanka last year, which he built on in the Test series against Pakistan, hitting 150 kmph as his fastest delivery. The beanpole, who is sure to grab eyeballs in the match on Thursday, is coming out of a fairly long season and the Bangladesh Premier League.

On the dreaded workload question for the youngster, Shanto dispelled all doubts. ‘’I think his workload is being managed quite well. Yes, there will be a lot of focus on him but he is not looking perturbed at all,’’ he said.