Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon felt that they are unlucky enough not to get Shakib Al Hasan when the ace all rounder’s service is badly needed. As Bangladesh prepared for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which is crucial for Tigers after a disastrous South Africa series, Shakib Al Hasan tested positive for Covid-19.
He was subsequently ruled out of the first Test, starting on May 15 in Chattogram as he would have to quarantine himself for seven days as per protocol.
Earlier, Shakib missed the South Africa Test series due to family emergency.
Papon said it is always tough to form a team combination without Shakib as the star all-rounder is a player in two-in-one.
“When he doesn’t play, we need an extra batsman and an extra bowler for which our team combination gets disrupted,” Papon said while addressing the media on Wednesday at National Sports Awards programme.
“It’s our bad luck that we don’t get him when we need him badly. But sometimes we can't control all the things. Shakib’s matter is such that, we have nothing to do. We have to maintain the protocol. Hopefully he will recover quickly.”
Papon however said it’s good thing that Shakib stays healthy and he has no significant symptoms.
“I talked to him yesterday, he said he is fine now. He has no problem at the moment. We will test again in a few days. It will be done according to our protocol. We want him to get better. His absence is definitely a big blow for the team,” he added.
Shakib however played his last Test against Pakistan at home. Then he skipped the Test series against New Zealand for family reasons.
He helped Bangladesh then to win their first ever ODI series win in South Africa and expectation was high that he would play a crucial role in Test series also. But before the Test series, due to family emergency he had to return to country and Bangladesh eventually were whitewashed at the hands of South Africa. But he was keen to play the Test series against Sri Lanka and for that he played some matches of Dhaka Premier League (DPL).