Popular cricket analyst Harsha Bhogle believes Sunrisers Hyderabad could be dubbed as outright favourites to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year if Shakib would have been in the team.
Shakib who is now serving the ban imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) due to his failure to report corrupt approaches helped Sunrisers win the IPL trophy back in 2016. After that year, he however became irregular in the team due to the rise of Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan and in the last year, he played only three matches in IPL.
But Shakib utilised the time off the field and practiced in a methodical way. The methodical practice is believed to help him to do blockbuster performance in the 2019 World Cup. Shakib ended the cricket’s extravaganza with 606 runs and 11 wickets. In World Cup’s history no player could achieve the double of 500 runs and 10 plus wickets simultaneously.
Harsha Bhogle, a commentator and cricket analyst thinks that this year’s IPL could be Shakib’s tournament since the event is being held in Dubai instead of India due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
“The team already has some exciting players at the top and down the order and some good bowler like Bhuvneshwar, Rashid Khan and they are one of the favourites in the tournament,” Harsha Bhogle said in a video podcast.
“I think this IPL could be Shakib’s IPL. When the game was played in India, he did not get many matches due to the combination of teams. Suppose Shakib is playing at number three, delivering four overs and I think this team would have been more from being a contender to be one of the favourites,” he added.
Meanwhile, Shakib’s ban will come to an end on October 29 this year and therefore the world’s best all-rounder of Bangladesh is desperate to return to cricket again. Shakib has already started personal practice in BKSP and is preparing himself for the Test series against Sri Lanka.
Shakib is likely to return to international cricket with the second Test against Sri Lanka.
