Shakib Al Hasan’s participation in the forthcoming series against South Africa suffered a fresh blow when the ace Bangladeshi all-rounder said that he was not mentally prepared enough for the tour because he did not enjoy his performances in the recently-concluded series against Afghanistan.
Shakib remained lackluster in the ODI series against Afghanistan compared to his usual standards. The southpaw scored 60 runs and claimed five wickets.
In the T20I series, Shakib only scored 14 runs in two matches and took 2-16 in the first game but gave away 32 runs in 3 overs in the next.
‘I felt like a passenger in a car [during Afghanistan series], which I never want to be in either the ODI or T20I series. I tried but it didn’t work out. I don’t think it would be right for me to play in South Africa in this state of mind,’ Shakib told media at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Sunday night before leaving for
Dubai.
Prior to his departure to the middle-east nation the all-rounder attended Mohammedan Sporting Club’s jersey unveiling programme for the upcoming Dhaka Premier League.
Previously, Shakib had asked the BCB about his intention to skip the South Africa series before the Indian Premier League auction began.
However, as the all-rounder remained unsold in the auction, Shakib’s involvement in the Test team was confirmed on Friday when the BCB named him in the Test squad for the series.
‘I said this to Jalal [Yunus] bhai and I think he will think about this and I will also think about it and then a decision should be taken,’ Shakib added.
