‘I didn't feel that he's 37’ - Najmul Shanto impressed with Shakib Al Hasan’s fitness after Test return

Former Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan made his return to Test cricket after a year and played his first international match since the ODI World Cup 2023. There were question marks over his fitness as the all-rounder was carrying a niggle in the BPL 2024 and also skipped the ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka and also the first Test of the two-match series. 

Meanwhile, newly appointed Bangladesh skipper Shanto was very happy with Shakib’s fitness in the second Test of the series, in which the hosts lost by 192 runs. Shanto mentioned that he didn’t feel that Shakib was 37 years old and added that the team management was well aware that the all-rounder would return back to the squad for the second Test.

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The 25-year-old also added that he got more from Shakib in the Test match than he expected. Notably, the veteran cricketer picked up four wickets and scored 51 runs in the match. Lauding him for his contribution, Shanto mentioned that it’s always helpful to have a senior cricketer like Shakib in the mix.

“We already knew that Shakib bhai would play in the second Test. We already knew well in advance. He had good preparation. Yes of course it will be better for the team to know in advance. I would hope to know in advance when the plan is clearly provided with this information,” Shanto was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.

“He played after one year and I didn't feel that he's 37. I got more from him than I expected. That's the truth. Having such an experienced player in Test cricket always helps. He also gave a lot of feedback to every player on the field,” he added.

With two back-to-back defeats at the hands of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh are now ninth on the World Test Championship points table. The Dhananjaya de Silva-led side on the other hand moved fourth on the points table, behind India, Australia and New Zealand respectively.