All-rounder Sakib al Hasan will come back even stronger once he gets back into the national team after serving his ban imposed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, said his mentor and former fielding coach of Tigers, Mohammad Salahuddin . The BCB directors on Monday unanimously decided to suspend Sakib from all kinds of competitive cricket for six months and decided not to provide him with any kind no-objection-certificate till December 31, 2015.
The decision effectively barred him from playing franchise-based Twenty20 cricket across the world including cash-rich Indian Premier League, where he was the sixth best player in last season.
‘Sakib is a born fighter and will certainly get over it,’ said Salahuddin, currently the coach of Singapore national cricket team.
‘A naturally gifted player’s career cannot be ruined by such sanction.’
Salahuddin mentored Sakib since his days at the BKSP and later as the long-serving fielding coach of the national team. He is credited for handling Sakib with proper care that helped the player to reach the pinnacle.
‘I think it was too harsh.’ Salahuddin said of his punishment. ‘He was punished earlier for his indiscipline activities. So, you cannot punish him twice for one offence.’
Earlier in February, Sakib was banned for three-match and fined Tk3 lakh for making lewd gesture on television during a one-day international match against Sri Lanka.
Salahuddin said that Sakib’s main problem is his outspoken character, which sometime offend people surrounding him.
‘I think it would have been totally different if he was more diplomatic with his words,’ said Salahuddin.
‘Though I prefer him to stay as he is and be straight forward, but reality is that everyone cannot take your honest opinion. They consider it as arrogance and see it as a severe attitude problem.’
Salahuddin also pointed out that people only see attitude problems in him when he plays in home series.
‘I don’t know why he gets into problem only in Bangladesh,’ said Salahuddin.
‘May be this is a clash of ego. He can be judged as a player and individual only in future,’ he added.
-With New Age input
