5 Bangladesh cricketers who did not get enough chances under Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib Al Hasan made his white-ball debut in 2006 and then forayed into the Test format in the following year. Looking at his talent and form, Shakib was given an opportunity to lead the team in the ODI and Test format. Although his red-ball stint lasted few Tests, he went on to captain Tigers in 50 ODI matches until 2015. Afterwards, the likes of Mashrafe Mortaza, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim donned the role for the national team.

Meanwhile, there were some players who did not get enough opportunities during Shakib’s tenure. It may be linked to their contributions, team combinations and playing style, which did not correlate perfectly with the national setup. All of them had steady careers but soon were dropped from the team.  

5 Bangladesh cricketers who did not get enough chances under Shakib Al Hasan:

1. Shahriar Nafees

The elegant top-order batter made his ODI debut against England in June 2005. He then churned out runs in a consistent manner and provided a stable start to the team. He hit his maiden century during a knock of 118* against Zimbabwe in 2006. Two years later, he hit 228 runs in four innings against Ireland.

During the 2010-11 period, he finally scored against teams like Australia and New Zealand. But he could garner only 39 runs in three innings against Pakistan, which turned out to be his last appearance in this format.

Despite producing impressive throughout his career in the 50-over format, Nafees was never called back to the ODI side. He slammed 2201 runs in 75 appearances, including four centuries. In 2021, he joined as a deputy manager of the Bangladesh Cricket Board's cricket operation.