Shakib Al Hasan: The Number One All-rounder

He is called the greatest cricketer Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has ever produced. He has been showing his cricketing talent since his international debut. He has been dominating the all-rounder ranking with No. 1 position. Because of his demand in domestic cricket, he has become the representative of Bangladesh. For him many people living in different countries around the world know about Bangladesh. He is an essential part in Bangladesh Cricket Team’s line-up. He has been performing consistently for his country over the years. Yes, I am talking about none other than the great Shakib Al Hasan.

International Cricket:

Shakib Al Hasan is a very popular face in T20 cricket league all over the world. This Bangladeshi all-rounder made his debut on the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2011 with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) eventually, becoming the only player from Bangladesh to be handed over a contract. Since then, he has been playing for the same franchise. Because of his performance in this cash-rich tournament with both the bat and ball, he became one of the key players retained by the club for the 2015 edition of the IPL. However, Shakib showed his best and proved that his selection was the right decision.

Domestic Cricket:

Shakib Al Hasan was also one of the most demanding players in the first edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). He led Khulna Royal Bengals. In the second edition of the tournament, he was picked up by Dhaka Gladiators. He played an important role in leading his club to the tournament title. He was selected as one of the icon players through lottery and picked up by Rangpur Riders in the third edition of the BPL. He played well with both bat and ball. Taking 18 wickets, he justified his icon player status and became one of the top performers of the tournament.

Career:

His performance in the shortest format of the cricket game has earned him a selection in the 2012 Sri Lanka Premier League where he played for Uthura Rudras. He also represented Barbados Tridents in the 2013 Caribbean Premier League. Replacing injured Johan Botha in the Adelaide Strikers in 2014, he became the first Bangladeshi player to play in the Australian domestic T20 cricket tournament, Big Bash League. In the inaugural edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which kicked off in February 2016, he was named one of the Platinum Players. He was taken by the Karachi Kings in the second round of the Platinum drafts of the five-franchise competition. He was the first player from Bangladesh to play in the English county cricket team where he represented Worcestershire in 2010 for several months. He did not miss the opportunity to prove his mettle and justify his inclusion in the squad.

Records:

Shakib Al Hasan has glorious record with the Bangladesh Cricket team. Since his debut in the international cricket in 2006, he has become a regular member in the main squad in all three formats of the game. He has become the sixth player after Sanath Jayasuriya, Kapil Dev, Chris Cairns, Shahid Afridi and Jacques Kallis to have reached the double figures of 8000 runs and 400 international wickets as of 2016. Playing 253 matches in total, including Test, ODI and T20Is, he has scored 9 centuries and 55 half-centuries, becoming the second highest centurion after Tamim Iqbal in Bangladesh cricket. He is one of the two players to have scored 1000 runs and claimed 50 plus wickets in T20I. Shahid Afridi of Pakistan became the first player in this elite club.

Rankings:

Because of his consistent performance in Test, ODI and T20Is, Shakib Al Hasan became top-ranked all-rounder by ICC in its player rankings in all three formats of the game. However, due to his current poor form, he has lost his top positions in Test and Twenty20 rankings to Ravichandran Ashwin and Shane Watson respectively. He is now going through a tough phase of his career. It is expected by his fans that he will regain his top position once again. No doubt, this time, it will be a very big challenge for him to move up to the No. 1 position.

Captaincy:

He led the Bangladesh National Cricket team for a short period of time. Because of Mashrafe Mortaza’s frequent injury, Shakib was handed the captaincy in mid 2009. His consistent performance and ability to stay calm under pressure worked well for Bangladesh. However, under his guidance, Bangladesh cricket team played the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. Bangladesh won only 22 out of 47 games led by him. In 2011, he was replaced by his compatriot Mushfiqur Rahim.

Earnings:

The top-ranked left-arm all-rounder is currently the richest cricketer of Bangladesh with an estimated net worth of $35 million or Tk. 280 crores. Besides playing cricket, he earned lion’s share of his earnings from endorsements, sponsors, cosmetic, event management and restaurant businesses. Major portion of his income came from playing in the T20-based tournaments across the world. When it comes to the TV commercials of top brands, the most popular face that comes to our mind first is Shakib Al Hasan. He has endorsed a lot of top brands including Pepsi, Castrol, Norton Antivirus, Boost, Lifebuoy and Standard Chartered Bank.

Personal Life:

He started second innings of his life marrying Umme Ahmed Shishir, a Bangladeshi American, in December 2012. Their relationship started when Shakib went to play county cricket for Worcestershire in England in 2011. The couple welcomed their first daughter Alayna Hasan Aubrey in November 2015. One interesting fact about Shakib is that he is a die-hard fan of Spanish club FC Barcelona.

Earlier Life:

So far you have read about his success story, but it did not come overnight. He had to struggle a lot to reach his current level. Making place in the national squad was not an easy task for him. He used to go to play for different villages on hire. With his performance in one of those matches, he impressed an umpire who helped him to practice with one of the teams in the Magura Cricket League, Islampur Para Club. However, he got admission at the Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Pratisthan (BKSP) where he spent six months for training. Then he got selected for the Under-19 team and between 2005 and 2006, he played 18 youth ODI matches scoring 563 runs at an average of 35.18 and took 22 wickets at an average of 20.18. This superb performance made his way to the national team. I think the rest is known to all. Since his international debut, he has become a regular member in the main squad and set many records with both the bat and ball.
Shakib Al Hasan is a role model among the Bangladeshi Cricket and the International Cricket.
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