World Cup: Boost for Bangladesh as Shakib Al Hasan declared fit for opener against Afghanistan

Bangladesh Cricket Team has received a massive boost as their captain, Shakib Al Hasan, is declared fit for the side's first World Cup 2023 game against Afghanistan on October 7 in Dharamsala. Stand-in captain Najmul Hossain Shanto revealed the news when speaking ahead of Bangladesh's second warm-up tie against England on Monday in Guwahati.

During Bangladesh's first practice match against Sri Lanka, the official broadcasters revealed Shakib injured his foot while playing football during the practice session ahead of that tie, resulting in him sitting out. Mehidy Hasan Miraz led the team in his absence and powered Bangladesh to a seven-wicket win. Shakib was rested for the second game against England as well.

In the absence of star opener Tamim Iqbal, who missed out on selection due to issues outside of his back injury, Shakib's absence from the side as opener would have been a blow. However, Shanto's update on the veteran all-rounder's fitness must have boosted the dressing room's environment.

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In the lead-up to the Cricket World Cup, Bangladesh endured a rough time in the ODIs, both during the Asia Cup 2023 campaign and against New Zealand in the home three-match series. Though Bangladesh finished ahead of Pakistan in the Super Four stage, courtesy of their win over India in their last clash, they lost the home series 0-2 to the Kiwis in the dress rehearsal series for the marquee event.

Shakib, the best player in their ranks, shone during the six-team tournament, hitting 80 off 85 balls against India tie. He amassed 173 runs from five games at an average of 43.25.

Meanwhile, playing his fifth World Cup alongside teammate Mushfiqur Rahman, Shakib was among the top three run-getters in the previous edition (in 2019), scoring 606 runs from eight matches, including two hundreds and five fifties. Off the top ten most runs scorers during the tournament, Shakib had the best batting average of 86.57.

Bangladesh will face England in their second CWC game on October 10 in Dharamsala and take on India in the marquee clash on October 19 in Pune.

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