There's something of the Huckleberry Finn in Shakib Al Hasan. That mischievous smile, the boyish face, and of course of endless array of tricks up his sleeve when he's bowling his left arm finger spin. And bowling them with intelligence and daring. He is a master at varying the flight of his deliveries, so that even though he is restricted by the finger spinner's arsenal, he does still manage to work in the most subtle of variations. And that arm ball is an absolute gem of course.
We always knew he was quality, and reflecting back, one would be very hard pressed to find faualt in his performances over the last one year, but the award for Wisden Test Cricketer of the Year still came as a surprise. Not that he didn't deserve it. Just that the sheer scale of the accolade means we hardly think one of our players could ever win it. But this year, if Shakib hasn't been the best cricketer in the world, who has been? it makes perfect sense. one can go on talking about his bowling indeed just that arm ball alone would take up a week or two's worth of paint perhaps but how brilliant he has been with the bat as well. The most wonderful thing shakib brings to the team, apart from his natural talent, is his infectious, positive attitude. You can see it almost pouring off him as he dives around the field. Or as he flights another one that the batsman flashs at to dispatch over cover but shakib doesn't hang his head he cannot contain his excitement at having had the batsman play exactly the shot he'll get him out to. In everything he does, Shakib al hasan just radiates an innate intelligence, and plenty of clean. If the martians are coming, he'll be one of the first names on the team-sheet to take them on. That all-rounder spot, whether in tests or OD's, is his.
Subscribe in a reader
No comments:
Post a Comment