Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan said he needs the break to relieve some mental pressure that would allow him to play for the country for next five years without tension.
He was taking to the newsmen on Tuesday at his Banani DOHS residence. The main theme of Shakib’s press event was that he needs to take a breather and refresh himself mentally.
I understand what does my body want ……questions already raised about my decision of taking a break .. I took the decision by knowing everything …. Thanks to BCB for understanding me and keep faith on me, said the all-rounder.
Asked why he opted to take rest in Test cricket instead of the shorter formats of the game, Shakib said that he felt, he needed a bigger break than usual.
Shakib explained that If a player takes a break from Test series, he will be getting almost a month off. If you take a break from a T20 series you get three days break and for an ODI series it’s only seven days.
“I was looking for a longer break so I opted for the Test series, he added.
One have to keep in mind, the endurance Shakib had to go through playing regular cricket in all three formats for Bangladesh in recent times. The climate in Bangladesh also means that the Tests against Australia have been a very demanding and pulsating, both on mental and physical level.
Since Shakib is the key member of the Bangladesh team in all three formats of the game – therefore he has to play a lot of cricket annually.
Besides World’s leading allrounder Shakib plays cricket in franchise leagues all over the world, IPL, BCL, PCL, Big Bash – most recently in the Caribbean.
The ace all-rounder on Monday was gracious enough to post his reasons behind asking for a lay-off in Test cricket.
