Shakib Al Hasan's Bowling Career - In a Glimpse
Shakib Al Hasan is a name of the biggest pride for all Bangladeshi Cricket fans in fact for every Bangladeshis. Currently he's ranked no.1 all-rounder in ODI and test format and 3rd in t20I. He's in the argument of the best all-rounders in Cricket history. Other than Shakib, there's no all-rounder in Cricket history to have the perfect records in both bowling and batting departments. Safe to say that Jacques Kallis is a pure batting all-rounder and so does Sir Garry Sobers. Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev, Shaun Pollock, Sir Ian Botham all of them are menace in bowling but comparably less impressive in batting. These all-rounders are pure legends from the classic era and I'm not comparing them with Shakib but one thing to admit, Shakib is the only all-rounder who's statistically perfect in both departments. He has a test batting average of 40.38 (which many pure batsmen don't have) and 34.95 in ODI (2nd best average among all current batsmen of Bangladesh). He's also the highest fiftian in T20I among all Bangladeshi batsmen. On the other hand in bowling, he took 188 test wickets out of only 86 innings (51 matches) with 17 five wicket hauls (which is 3rd highest among all left arm spinners in Cricket history) and took 235 wickets out of 185 ODI matches (9th highest wicket taker in ODI format among all spinners in Cricket history). He's the 5th highest wicket taker in T20I history (75 wickets). He has already built tons of records. He is the only all-rounder in Cricket history to have 2000+ runs and 100+ wickets on a single venue (2377 runs and 112 wickets out of 78 matches in Sher-e-bangla National Stadium). He's one of three players in Cricket history to have a century (in an innings) and 10-wicket haul in a test match. He's one of two players in Cricket history to have 250+ runs and 15+ wickets in a 3-test series. There are tons of records and if I keep mentioning his records, it'll take a long time to finish it. Yesterday he took his 300th wicket in T20 format. He's the 5th bowler and first left arm bowler to reach this milestone. This is Mashhud Hasan from frenzyweb360 and today I'm going to discuss about Shakib Al Hasan's bowling career.
Shakib started his career as a specialist middle order batsman who could bowl well occasionally. To be honest he got some chances to bowl but didn't executed well. He was wicket-less in his first two test matches. In his first 5 test matches, he only took 3 wickets. Leading to Chittagong test against New Zealand, Jamie Siddons said at the media that he was going to use Shakib as a specialist bowler. Nobody knows what happened at the dressing room or on-field but the guy who took 3 wickets in his first 5 test matches got 7 wickets by conceding only 36 runs at the 1st innings of New Zealand's innings. Shakib absolutely thrashed the entire Kiwi batting line-up. Brendon McCullum, Jamie How, Jesse Rider, Aaron Redmond, Jacob Oram, none of them stood any chance against Shakib's left arm off-break. Unfortunately Bangladesh was on the losing side in that match (lost by 3 wickets) but Shakib ended the match by taking a total of 9 wickets and scoring 71 runs in Bangladesh's 2nd innings.
This was just the beginning. After that series, Bangladesh had a tour in South Africa and against Shakib showed his bowling capabilities. South African pitches are always covered with a thin layer of grass (for creating advantage for pacers to skid the ball) and it's always hard for spinners to turn their deliveries. Yet Shakib bowled very well in that wicket. That time Shakib used to release his bowls with a straight non-sliding action. First test held in Bloemfontein and South African's were 352-4 once. Kallis was there at the crease. Shakib delivered a typical off-break with extra pace and Kallis tried to utilize his foot-work at the down the track but mis-timed it and got caught out at mid-wicket. Then Shakib bowled a delivery which he released from the angle and out-turned it. AB de Villiers came down the track for a drive but missed to hit and got caught behind for a thin edge. Against Mark Boucher, Shakib delivered a side spin that got extra bounce. That ball perfectly pitched on it's seam and got unevenly turned out & bounced which Boucher didn't expect. He got bold out by Shakib's perfect side spin. Overall he was very consistent with the ball in that match and ended that innings with a bowling spell of 38-4-130-5. It was the first time any Bangladeshi took 5 wicket haul in South African track. Unfortunately Bangladesh lost that test by innings and 129 runs. Heading to Centurion test, Shakib was even more aggressive. At the 1st innings of South Africa, they were 112-2 once and Kallis was on the strike. Shakib delivered a tricky arm ball that Kallis failed to recognize and got bold out. It was the 2nd time he got struct by Shakib. Almost a same type of delivery but with more flight, he took Hashim Amla's wicket. Shakib again dismissed de Villiers by the same way he did in previous test. He delivered a pure off-break and de Villiers came down the track, missed to hit and got stumped. South Africa turned 134-5 but after that, Boucher and Ashwell Prince built a mammoth partnership of 271 runs. At 405-5, Boucher again got haunted by side spin's turn and bounce. Shakib ended that innings by taking 6 wickets out of 99 innings and even though that series was a nightmare for Bangladesh, Shakib still made it memorable for his outstanding performance in bowling. He also took 5 wicket haul at the Old Trafford, Manchester. While most of the subcontinental spinners struggle to bowl in African or European continent, Shakib outside Asia is as good as inside Asia. In Asian turf, he took 139 wickets out of 64 innings. On the other hand, outside Asia he took 49 wickets out of only 22 innings. There are only 4 bowlers who have 5 wicket hauls against all test playing nations and Shakib is one of their respectful members. He's one of the most accomplished spinners in test cricket history.
Shakib was consistent with the bowl in ODI from the very beginning of his career. But he kept improving day by day. Till now he has 235 wickets out of 185 matches (182 innings) and has 7 four wicket hauls & a five wicket haul. One of his greatest spells in ODI was 5-0-16-4 against West Indies at 2011. At the world-cup, West Indies bowled Bangladesh all-out for just 58 runs and Shakib was the captain of that team. It was a huge failure and he had to take a revenge of it. He didn't take much time to do it. At 2011, West Indies had a tour in Bangladesh and they were leading the series by 2-0 in first two matches. In last ODI, Shakib took 4 wickets by 16 runs, took Darren Sammy, Dinesh Ramdin, Carlos Brathwait's big wickets and secured to all-out West Indies within 61 runs. Bangladesh won that match safely by having 8 wickets on the hand and Shakib was awarded the man of the match.
In my opinion, after test format, Shakib's most comfortable format is T20. He's one of the most experienced shorter format players who've played in every franchise leagues. Some of his major teams were Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Melbourne Renegades, Adelaide Strikers, Jamaica Tallawahs, Barbados Tridents, Worcestershire, Essex, Leicestershire, Karachi Kings, Peshawar Zalmi, Khulna Royal Bengals, Rangpur Riders, Dhaka Dynamites and many. As I've mentioned before, he's the 5th highest wicket taker in t20 and in t20I as well. He took 302 wickets out of 261 t20 matches and 75 wickets out of 63 T20I matches. He's the highest wicket taker in the history of BPL (Bangladesh Premiere League), took 83 wickets out of 61 matches.Yesterday he reached his 50th IPL wicket against Kings XI Punjab. Only 45 players have done this feat. Currently he has 51 wickets out of 50 IPL matches. He's mostly successful against Rajasthan Royals. Against them, he took 11 wickets out of 7 matches with an economy of only 6.28 and a bowling average of 26. In CPL, he has played a total of 24 matches (22 innings) and with an economy of 6.52, he took 25 wickets. He was the 2nd highest wicket taker of the first ever CPL tournament in 2013. In that tournament, he took 6 wickets by conceding 6 runs against Trinidad & Tobago and still now that bowling spell is the 2nd best in t20 history. In PSL, he took 8 wickets out of 11 innings. In BigBash, he took 9 wickets out of only 6 innings (with a brilliant economy of 6.09). Last time he played BBL was at 2015 for Melbourne Renegades. In that tournament, he took 7 wickets out of only 4 matches with an economy of just 6.06, which includes a bowling spell of 4-0-13-4 against Brisbane Heat. It's really surprising why he didn't get any chances at BBL after such performance. Shakib was the highest wicket taker of BPL 2017 where he took 22 wickets out of 13 matches. Shakib is the 6th highest wicket taker of T20 World-cup history (30 wickets out of 25 matches). He was the 3rd highest wicket taker of T20 World-cup 2016 by taking 10 wickets out of 6 matches. He is positioned 2nd in most 4 wicket hauls in T20 world-cup history. He is positioned 3rd in most 4 wicket hauls in the history of T20I. He is positioned 2nd in most 5 wicket hauls in T20 (he has 3 five wicket hauls, Only Lasith Malinga has more). The latest one was against Rangpur Riders at 2017 BPL when he took 5 wickets by conceding 16 runs in that match.
Particularly his bowling career is stacked with many records. He's one of very few spinners who can bowl frequently in powerplays. We saw him opening in bowling at mid level games as well as in high voltage games like Nidahas Trophy. He also has the capability to bowl at the death overs against crafty sloggers. He is not the biggest turner or the ball but has a lot of variations. He gives orthodox off-breaks, sliders, flights, side spins, arm bowls and many. His bowling arsenal is stacked. He insists the opponent batsmen to hit and mis-time. He also drops the batsmen over the trap by insisting them to come down the track and get stumped. Many people would argue if he really is the best spinner of the current time or not because nowadays people can easily get biased by recent performances. In my opinion, Rangana Herath is the best test spinner now and Ashwin is on a run of topping the ranking. In ODI, Imran Tahir is doing really well and Rashid Khan is also performing brilliant. In T20I, leg-spinners are absolutely dominating the bowler's ranking. But if you consider overall all formats, then Shakib is the most successful spinner of the current generation. Not to forget he's undoubtly the best all-rounder of current generation and in the argument of the greatest all-rounders. But aside from his batting capabilities, he's a well-rounded and an aggressive spinner who can bowl in the opening overs as well as in death overs. We often create so much hype on the young foreign spinners that are temporarily dominating bowler's ranking these days. But let's just give some time on respecting and cheering for our own legend.
Shakib started his career as a specialist middle order batsman who could bowl well occasionally. To be honest he got some chances to bowl but didn't executed well. He was wicket-less in his first two test matches. In his first 5 test matches, he only took 3 wickets. Leading to Chittagong test against New Zealand, Jamie Siddons said at the media that he was going to use Shakib as a specialist bowler. Nobody knows what happened at the dressing room or on-field but the guy who took 3 wickets in his first 5 test matches got 7 wickets by conceding only 36 runs at the 1st innings of New Zealand's innings. Shakib absolutely thrashed the entire Kiwi batting line-up. Brendon McCullum, Jamie How, Jesse Rider, Aaron Redmond, Jacob Oram, none of them stood any chance against Shakib's left arm off-break. Unfortunately Bangladesh was on the losing side in that match (lost by 3 wickets) but Shakib ended the match by taking a total of 9 wickets and scoring 71 runs in Bangladesh's 2nd innings.
This was just the beginning. After that series, Bangladesh had a tour in South Africa and against Shakib showed his bowling capabilities. South African pitches are always covered with a thin layer of grass (for creating advantage for pacers to skid the ball) and it's always hard for spinners to turn their deliveries. Yet Shakib bowled very well in that wicket. That time Shakib used to release his bowls with a straight non-sliding action. First test held in Bloemfontein and South African's were 352-4 once. Kallis was there at the crease. Shakib delivered a typical off-break with extra pace and Kallis tried to utilize his foot-work at the down the track but mis-timed it and got caught out at mid-wicket. Then Shakib bowled a delivery which he released from the angle and out-turned it. AB de Villiers came down the track for a drive but missed to hit and got caught behind for a thin edge. Against Mark Boucher, Shakib delivered a side spin that got extra bounce. That ball perfectly pitched on it's seam and got unevenly turned out & bounced which Boucher didn't expect. He got bold out by Shakib's perfect side spin. Overall he was very consistent with the ball in that match and ended that innings with a bowling spell of 38-4-130-5. It was the first time any Bangladeshi took 5 wicket haul in South African track. Unfortunately Bangladesh lost that test by innings and 129 runs. Heading to Centurion test, Shakib was even more aggressive. At the 1st innings of South Africa, they were 112-2 once and Kallis was on the strike. Shakib delivered a tricky arm ball that Kallis failed to recognize and got bold out. It was the 2nd time he got struct by Shakib. Almost a same type of delivery but with more flight, he took Hashim Amla's wicket. Shakib again dismissed de Villiers by the same way he did in previous test. He delivered a pure off-break and de Villiers came down the track, missed to hit and got stumped. South Africa turned 134-5 but after that, Boucher and Ashwell Prince built a mammoth partnership of 271 runs. At 405-5, Boucher again got haunted by side spin's turn and bounce. Shakib ended that innings by taking 6 wickets out of 99 innings and even though that series was a nightmare for Bangladesh, Shakib still made it memorable for his outstanding performance in bowling. He also took 5 wicket haul at the Old Trafford, Manchester. While most of the subcontinental spinners struggle to bowl in African or European continent, Shakib outside Asia is as good as inside Asia. In Asian turf, he took 139 wickets out of 64 innings. On the other hand, outside Asia he took 49 wickets out of only 22 innings. There are only 4 bowlers who have 5 wicket hauls against all test playing nations and Shakib is one of their respectful members. He's one of the most accomplished spinners in test cricket history.
Shakib was consistent with the bowl in ODI from the very beginning of his career. But he kept improving day by day. Till now he has 235 wickets out of 185 matches (182 innings) and has 7 four wicket hauls & a five wicket haul. One of his greatest spells in ODI was 5-0-16-4 against West Indies at 2011. At the world-cup, West Indies bowled Bangladesh all-out for just 58 runs and Shakib was the captain of that team. It was a huge failure and he had to take a revenge of it. He didn't take much time to do it. At 2011, West Indies had a tour in Bangladesh and they were leading the series by 2-0 in first two matches. In last ODI, Shakib took 4 wickets by 16 runs, took Darren Sammy, Dinesh Ramdin, Carlos Brathwait's big wickets and secured to all-out West Indies within 61 runs. Bangladesh won that match safely by having 8 wickets on the hand and Shakib was awarded the man of the match.
In my opinion, after test format, Shakib's most comfortable format is T20. He's one of the most experienced shorter format players who've played in every franchise leagues. Some of his major teams were Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Melbourne Renegades, Adelaide Strikers, Jamaica Tallawahs, Barbados Tridents, Worcestershire, Essex, Leicestershire, Karachi Kings, Peshawar Zalmi, Khulna Royal Bengals, Rangpur Riders, Dhaka Dynamites and many. As I've mentioned before, he's the 5th highest wicket taker in t20 and in t20I as well. He took 302 wickets out of 261 t20 matches and 75 wickets out of 63 T20I matches. He's the highest wicket taker in the history of BPL (Bangladesh Premiere League), took 83 wickets out of 61 matches.Yesterday he reached his 50th IPL wicket against Kings XI Punjab. Only 45 players have done this feat. Currently he has 51 wickets out of 50 IPL matches. He's mostly successful against Rajasthan Royals. Against them, he took 11 wickets out of 7 matches with an economy of only 6.28 and a bowling average of 26. In CPL, he has played a total of 24 matches (22 innings) and with an economy of 6.52, he took 25 wickets. He was the 2nd highest wicket taker of the first ever CPL tournament in 2013. In that tournament, he took 6 wickets by conceding 6 runs against Trinidad & Tobago and still now that bowling spell is the 2nd best in t20 history. In PSL, he took 8 wickets out of 11 innings. In BigBash, he took 9 wickets out of only 6 innings (with a brilliant economy of 6.09). Last time he played BBL was at 2015 for Melbourne Renegades. In that tournament, he took 7 wickets out of only 4 matches with an economy of just 6.06, which includes a bowling spell of 4-0-13-4 against Brisbane Heat. It's really surprising why he didn't get any chances at BBL after such performance. Shakib was the highest wicket taker of BPL 2017 where he took 22 wickets out of 13 matches. Shakib is the 6th highest wicket taker of T20 World-cup history (30 wickets out of 25 matches). He was the 3rd highest wicket taker of T20 World-cup 2016 by taking 10 wickets out of 6 matches. He is positioned 2nd in most 4 wicket hauls in T20 world-cup history. He is positioned 3rd in most 4 wicket hauls in the history of T20I. He is positioned 2nd in most 5 wicket hauls in T20 (he has 3 five wicket hauls, Only Lasith Malinga has more). The latest one was against Rangpur Riders at 2017 BPL when he took 5 wickets by conceding 16 runs in that match.
Particularly his bowling career is stacked with many records. He's one of very few spinners who can bowl frequently in powerplays. We saw him opening in bowling at mid level games as well as in high voltage games like Nidahas Trophy. He also has the capability to bowl at the death overs against crafty sloggers. He is not the biggest turner or the ball but has a lot of variations. He gives orthodox off-breaks, sliders, flights, side spins, arm bowls and many. His bowling arsenal is stacked. He insists the opponent batsmen to hit and mis-time. He also drops the batsmen over the trap by insisting them to come down the track and get stumped. Many people would argue if he really is the best spinner of the current time or not because nowadays people can easily get biased by recent performances. In my opinion, Rangana Herath is the best test spinner now and Ashwin is on a run of topping the ranking. In ODI, Imran Tahir is doing really well and Rashid Khan is also performing brilliant. In T20I, leg-spinners are absolutely dominating the bowler's ranking. But if you consider overall all formats, then Shakib is the most successful spinner of the current generation. Not to forget he's undoubtly the best all-rounder of current generation and in the argument of the greatest all-rounders. But aside from his batting capabilities, he's a well-rounded and an aggressive spinner who can bowl in the opening overs as well as in death overs. We often create so much hype on the young foreign spinners that are temporarily dominating bowler's ranking these days. But let's just give some time on respecting and cheering for our own legend.
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