Mashrafe applauds Shakib for stepping up against Sri Lanka

Bangladesh star Shakib Al Hasan has been out of sorts in the last couple of matches but skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza says he never had any doubt about the allrounder.

Sports Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 28 Feb 2016, 08:19 PM
Updated : 28 Feb 2016, 08:20 PM

Mashrafe lauded Shakib's effort with both the bat and the ball against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Shakib scored a gritty 32 off 34 balls in a crucial partnership with Sabbir Rahman before bagging two wickets to help the Tigers earn their first ever Twenty20 win against Sri Lanka.

The 28-year old had scored just 3 against India in the opener, before being dismissed for 13 against the United Arab Emirates in the following match. He took three wickets in those two matches.

In the first match, he fluffed an easy catch at point to let Rohit Sharma off. Sharma then went on to smash a match-winning innings.

Shakib, however, took a fine catch at the same position to see the back of stand-in Lankan captain Angelo Mathews on Sunday.

Mashrafe is pleased to see Shakib gradually returning to form.

"I actually think of Shakib as a human being, not as an alien. Rough patches will come. It feels good to see him step up. He is one of the best players in our team."

"He has always done what is required for the team and is still at it. He may not always succeed. We also want him to always do well.

"But at the end of the day, he, too, is a human being and can make mistakes."